Billions in Saudi investment expected in Syria

These would be the largest investments of their kind since the United States lifted a package of sanctions on Syria in December 2025, Helali told Reuters on Tuesday, February 3.

The expected Saudi investments will include projects in the telecommunications and real estate sectors, particularly in old cities, Helali said.

He added that most of the potential investments would be ready-to-execute contracts, rather than non-binding memoranda of understanding.

Two informed Syrian sources told Reuters that the aviation sector investments will include contracts to develop Aleppo International Airport.

The two sources expected the new private airline to begin operations with more than 12 aircraft.

A Syrian businessman familiar with the matter told Reuters that Saudi Arabia intends to provide insurance coverage for the investments expected to be implemented in Syria, a step aimed at encouraging Saudi companies to enter the Syrian market.

Investment law offers protection for projects

In a previous interview with Enab Baladi, Talal Helali said the investment law provides full protection for projects and investors’ funds and prevents any party from seizing projects. It also allows a foreign investor to own 100% of a project without a local partner.

He added that the law also allows the recruitment of foreign expertise, amounting to up to 40% of a project’s workforce, helping launch projects, train Syrian staff, and raise technical standards.

$6.4 billion

On July 24, 2025, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih announced the signing of 47 agreements and memoranda of understanding in Syria, with a total value of nearly 24 billion Saudi riyals (about $6.4 billion), on the sidelines of the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum at the People’s Palace in Damascus.

At the time, Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia was set to establish major investments in Syria across all sectors, led by energy, real estate, industry, infrastructure, financial services, health, agriculture, telecommunications, information technology, contracting, education, and others.

According to Al-Falih, the forum also saw the launch of cooperation between Syria’s Ministry of Communications and a number of Saudi telecommunications companies to develop infrastructure and enhance cybersecurity capabilities. The agreements in this field were estimated at four billion Saudi riyals (about $1 billion).

Regarding Syria’s agriculture sector, Al-Falih said there were plans to work in Syria to develop joint, high-quality projects, including model farms and agro-processing industries.

He also praised what he described as the Syrian government’s “bold, positive, and courageous” steps to improve the investment climate and streamline investment procedures.

Syrian-Saudi relations have seen a notable improvement since the fall of the former regime, and Syria has received Saudi support at both the political and economic levels.

[Source: Enab Baladi English]