Forward Blog

Syria Banker '09 - Special Guide

Syria’s Comprehensive Banking Pages

Leading financial institutions in Syria are invited to come together in one comprehensive guide about the banking sector in the country, the recent developments it has witnessed and the role the banking and financial sectors play in advancing the economic growth of Syria. Against the backdrop of the recent credit crunch that has hit the US – rippling through other countries worldwide – we believe this supplement is here to shed light on the stability of the banking sector in Syria, through substantiated growth figures and a fair demonstration of future programs that your esteemed establishments have for Syria. Establishments introducing new trends in microfinance and other similar programs will benefit greatly from highlighting their cutting-edge, development-enhancing products as we predict this supplement will turn into a reprint-able guide to Syria’s strides in advancing its economy beyond familiar boundaries.

Gaza

 

Breakfats at Mora's

Around this time of year, expatriate Syrians start planning their Christimas holidays in Damascus. For the past 15-years, I have watched some of Syria’s finest young minds pack up and leave, for careers in the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the US. Some left to pursue their education in the West. Others went for professional reasons—for better salaries, searching for career enhacement. Some went to places like Canada to get foreign passports. Many left to evade forced military service in the Syrian Army. All of them—almost with no exceptions—went through the same cycle. I embraced them all on the night of their departures, wishing them the best of luck with their new lives, promising everybody “to stay in touch.”

Storming back onto the world stage

Sami Moubayed 

Former British prime minister Tony Blair showed personal interest in the domestic reform program begun by Syria’s new President Bashar al-Assad in 2000. Blair wrote an article at the time, saying that Syria was “a power in the Middle East, a leader of Arab opinion, central to any comprehensive peace deal with Israel, and a member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council”.