Syria can reach level of Malaysia in five years, finance minister says

Syria is in a hurry to rebuild its war-torn economy and will not wait for the international community to begin making those changes, the country's finance minister said on Wednesday, while adding that Syria had the potential to "reach the level of Malaysia" in five years.

Mohammed Yisr Barnieh, who spoke at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, was part of Syria's first delegation to the Fund and the World Bank's semi-annual gathering of central bank governors and finance ministers since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011.

Barnieh serves as finance minister in the country's transitional government, set up earlier this year by President Ahmed al-Sharaa after his forces ousted Syria's long-serving dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Without the IMF and other international financial institutions, Syria "cannot move ahead," Barnieh said. "But if you are slow, we will move without you."

"What we need from the IMF and World Bank is capacity building, knowledge transfer, technology, know how, expertise and so on," he said. "We don't need money from them."

"I'm not excluding borrowing down the road, but now we have no intention whatsoever," he added. "We want to make sure that our house (is) in order."

Syria's government faces a monumental challenge in rebuilding the country's war-torn economy after more than 15 years of civil war - something Barnieh estimated would likely cost "tens of billions" of dollars.

Barnieh said his immediate priorities were to restore "confidence and trust" with both the public and the private sector.

This, he added, included a focus on restoring fiscal credibility, simplifying Syria's overly complex taxation system, and tackling its huge debt burden.

"If you look at our reform agenda now, every single piece of reform is focused on how to create the ecosystem to support the private sectors and how to create the ecosystem to support attracting foreign investment," he said.

"I'm sure one day, everybody will realise that Syria is a good place to invest," he continued. "My message is: Do not wait...It will take quite some time, but then the opportunity will be missed."

"When I see a million Syrians returning to their country, that gives me hope. And when internally displaced persons return to their homes, that’s also a sign of hope," Barnieh added. 

"If we successfully implement our reforms, Syria can reach the level of Malaysia within five years," he added.

Malaysia is an advanced Southeast Asian economy which has often been held up as a model for other Muslim countries. Syria however has been devastated by 14 years of war, with observers saying it will take decades for the country to recover.

Addressing the US-Syria relationship, Barnieh said it was improving every day, and that Syria was moving ahead with reforms despite ongoing sanctions.

"We are very optimistic about the Syria-US relationship, and we are very optimistic of seeing American companies, American banks, American and international organisations in Syria," he said.