DAMASCUS: Syrian Arab Republic has carried out its first international bank transaction via the SWIFT system since the outbreak of its 14-year civil war, its central bank governor said on Thursday, a milestone in the country’s push to reintegrate into the global financial system.
Abdelkader Husriyeh told Reuters in Damascus that a direct commercial transaction had been carried out from a Syrian to an Italian bank on Sunday, and that transactions with US banks could begin within weeks.
“The door is now open to more such transactions,” he said.
Syrian banks were largely cut off from the world during the civil war after a crackdown by Bashar Assad on anti-government protests in 2011 led Western states to impose sanctions, including on Syria’s central bank.
Assad was ousted as president in a lightning offensive by rebels last year and Syria has since taken steps to re-establish international ties, culminating in a May meeting between interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and US President Donald Trump in Riyadh.
