A Kurdish delegation from northeastern Syria, left, meets representatives of the Syrian transitional government in Damascus on June 1, 2025 – AFP
Syria is undergoing significant economic changes for the first time in years.Following the fall of the Assad regime at the end of 2024, and after negotiations between Syria’s interim government, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and key international partners, efforts have begun to reintroduce Syria into the global economic system.
In June 2025, Syria’s Central Bank completed its first international banking transaction via SWIFT in more than fourteen years—a major milestone in the country’s reentry into the global financial system. This breakthrough opens the door to increased funding opportunities and potential foreign investment.
The transaction followed a high-level meeting involving executives from major Syrian banks, senior U.S. officials, and representatives from leading American financial institutions.
On June 30, President Trump signed an executive order formally lifting sanctions on Syria starting July 1, including those imposed before the outbreak of civil war. The Executive Order contains multiple provisions for the lifting of sanctions, including amendments to the language of previous Executive Orders. Other sections address the Caesar Act, the Chemical and Biological Weapons (CBW) Act, and the Syria Accountability Act, and the reporting requirements from US Department of State and the executive branch. Another section discusses the need for accountability for Bashar Al-Assad and expands certain provisions of the previous sanctions from the US Department of Treasury, such as extending sanctions to anyone who served as an official of the Assad government.
In the meantime, the US Department of Treasury has removed 518 Syrian individuals and entities from its list of sanctions, and declared that it will now be legal for US entities to invest in Syria, and thereby opening Syria for investment from other countries as well.
“This move aims to support Syria’s path toward long-term peace and stability,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The order lifts sanctions on Syria while maintaining measures against former president Assad and his associates, human rights violators, drug traffickers, individuals involved in chemical weapons activities, ISIS and its affiliates, and Iranian proxy groups.”
While President Trump has the authority to lift certain sanctions, the executive branch must rely on a further act of Congress to fully lift sanctions created by Congressional acts. In June, US Congressmembers introduced multiple bills into the House of Representatives and Senate that would lift the remaining sanctions.
