Saudi Arabia and Qatar Pay off Syria’s Overdue World Bank Loan

The World Bank says that approximately $15.5 million Syria owed the International Development Association has been paid off by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.IDA, the World Bank Group’s fund for the poorest countries, provides zero- or low-interest loans and grants to countries for projects and programs that boost economic growth, build resilience, and improve the lives of poor people around the world.Syria now has no remaining outstanding balances due to IDA, the World Bank said in a statement on Friday. While the $15.5 million loan seems small for an organization that gave out more than $31 billion last year, the overdue payment kept Syria from borrowing any further money. With the debt repaid, it opens the country to new operations funded by the IDA.Plans were announced last month to clear the debts. Syria hailed it as paving the way for recovery after its 14-year civil war that caused widespread destruction, the Associated Press reported.The first new project the World Bank Group plans to help the country fund is electricity related. Much of the country’s power infrastructure was destroyed in the fighting.President Trump says he will end all sanctions on the new Syrian government after the fall of the Assad regime. Western sanctions have been an obstacle to development and reconstruction projects.Speaking to Saudi officials on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said, “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.” The crowd applauded for more than 30 seconds, and gave the president a standing ovation.Mr. Trump met with President Ahmad al-Sharaa the next day and called the new Syrian ruler a “young, attractive guy, tough guy.” Mr. Sharaa, earlier known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, had been imprisoned at Abu Ghraib as a member of the Iraqi ISIS faction. He is now trying to shed that past and engage with regional and Western governments.An Oxford international relations expert, Samuel Ramani, says the US is working to keep Syria’s orientation away from Russia and a reliance on China’s supply chains. “Sanctions relief is a paradigm shift,” Mr. Ramani says in an X post.Reuters reported Friday that Syria plans to print a newly-designed currency in the UAE and Germany instead of Russia. The report also said Syria signed an $800 million deal with the UAE to develop a new port.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar Pay off Syria’s Overdue World Bank Loan

Saudi Arabia and Qatar Pay off Syria’s Overdue World Bank Loan

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