Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday officially launched the Syrian Development Fund, describing it as a national institution that would serve as a key tool for rebuilding what the deposed Assad regime destroyed over 14 years.
It will focus on areas which suffered extensive destruction during the brutal Syrian conflict, which lasted 14 years.
Sharaa spoke at a ceremony at the capital Damascus’s ancient citadel attended by politicians, businesspeople, and religious figures.
He called on Syrian and international donors who were able to contribute to the fund.
"We call on you to spend generously from your wealth to rebuild what the defunct regime destroyed and revive the land they burned, making it green and flourishing again," Sharaa said.
"The defunct regime destroyed our economy, looted our wealth, demolished our homes, and scattered our people into camps and places of refuge. Today we gather to heal the wounds of beloved Syria, rebuild it with the hands of its sons, and bring back the displaced and the exiled to their land," he added.
Sharaa’s wife, Latifa Droubi, donated $5,000 to the fund, while the Syrian state-run Ikhbariya news channel reported that a total of US$60 million had been received so far.
The Syrian president stressed that "the Fund will operate with complete transparency, disclosing all money spent on clear strategic projects".
This came, however, several weeks after a Reuters investigation found that the new Syrian government was "secretly" restructuring the devastated country’s economy, under a new committee headed by Sharaa’s brother Hazem, which was operating without transparency.
Safwat Raslan, the new head of the Development Fund, told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the fund's creation aims at "reconstruction in all vital sectors, from health, education, and agriculture, to major infrastructure projects".
He said the most urgent priority was to close down the Internal Displacement camps and quickly return displaced people to their homes.
Raslan expressed optimism that Syria’s renewed ties with Arab states - especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar - as well as with Turkey, would translate into major support.
Syrian Emergency Minister Raed al-Saleh told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Fund would focus on the areas most affected by conflict, particularly Idlib, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Homs, and Rif Dimashq province, where destruction in some villages exceeds 90 percent - and even reaches 100 percent in places where only one or two homes remain habitable.
He said destruction in Deir ez-Zor exceeds 80 percent, and around 60 percent in Rif Dimashq. Rebuilding infrastructure in these areas, he stressed, requires "double effort and massive funding", estimating overall costs at $250-400 billion, potentially reaching $800 billion if all sectors and regions are included.
Al-Saleh noted that more than one million people still live in camps, while the return of around 1.5 million Syrians since 2024 has put enormous pressure on an already crumbling infrastructure -threatening social stability if not accompanied by rapid and effective development projects.