A New Era is Beginning in Damascus

✨ Yazıyı özetle ve sesli okuDil TürkçeEnglishDeutschالعربية

Özet ve ses yapay zekâ tarafından oluşturulur; ses gerçek bir kişiye ait kayıt değildir. Ayrıntılar için yazının tamamını okuyun.

Dear readers!

I was in Syria recently.

I attended the IMAR 2026 Fair held in Damascus between September 13-16.

At the fair, which saw high participation from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, I had the opportunity to meet with companies, investors, and representatives of the Syrian Investment Authority.

On the occasion of the fair, I had the opportunity to see Damascus up close.

The traces of the war are still very clear. There are disruptions in urban planning, municipal services, and transportation. But life goes on. People are looking for work, wanting to produce and trade. When you walk the streets, you clearly feel this desire and excitement.

Syria is preparing to rise from its ashes after the destruction left by the war.

It is obvious that this rebirth will create serious mobility not only in Syria, but also in the regional economy in the coming period.

IMAR 2026 WAS MORE THAN JUST A FAIR

IMAR 2026 was not just a fair where companies opened stands. It was an arena where new projects and new collaborations were discussed.

Frankly, it pleased me immensely to see Turkey exerting its weight in every field.

The Ministry of Transport, the Directorate of Migration Management, MÜSİAD, TOKİ, industry representatives, and numerous Turkish companies were there. 45 organizations from Turkey and Gulf countries had opened stands.

Turkey has very strong expertise in urban transformation, social housing, and engineering. Thus, IMAR 2026 was a great opportunity both to share this expertise with Syria and to generate new business opportunities for Turkish firms.

Just before the fair, our Minister of Trade and his delegation had come to Damascus. During the days I was there, our Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan was also in the city.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's intense interest in Syria surprised me quite a bit.

Looking from the outside, we mostly know Saudi Arabia for its revenues from oil, Hajj, and Umrah. However, at the fair, there were Saudi companies operating in very different business lines.

In short, serious business and investment traffic has begun in Damascus.

And Turkey is right in the middle of this traffic.

THE ROAD AHEAD FOR SYRIA

When we look at countries that have suffered great devastation in war, we do not encounter the same picture everywhere.

In such countries, big money and projects are talked about after the war; but the result varies depending on how that money is used.

The first example is Iraq.

Very large resources entered the country after the war. Important normalization in terms of security was also achieved over time. Despite this, looking back over all these years, we see that major projects have not reflected on daily life and people's living standards to the expected extent.

In the past, the wounds of war were also very heavy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Cities recovered with external support, and life started again. However, the economy, politics, and institutions could not recover at the same pace. Now, many young people continue to seek a future in other countries. The country cannot sustain itself.

The war in Ukraine continues as well, but it will inevitably end one day.

And action will be taken for the country's reconstruction. However, the main issue there too will not end with building new homes and roads. Whether the investments to be made turn into production and permanent jobs will be decisive.

This is the picture I saw during my trip to Damascus that made me think about these things.

Syria has a very strong reconstruction movement ahead of it and a wide window of opportunity opened by it.

Construction has always been the locomotive sector of the economy.

When a construction site is established, not only does the contractor work. From material suppliers to transporters, and from the financial sector to the service sector, many areas mobilize in the wake of construction projects.

That is why the reconstruction process in Syria will give serious momentum to the country's economy, this is certain.

But the most important phase will begin after this.

A Syria where young Syrian people do not migrate to other countries to find jobs, where a production economy prevails, and where lasting prosperity is established…

This should be the main target.

HOW SHOULD TURKEY TAKE PART IN SYRIA?

First of all, Turkey's perspective on Syria should not be limited to contracting alone.

Certainly, Turkish contracting, building materials, and infrastructure expertise are very strong. However, Turkey has many distinct advantages such as geographical proximity, logistical capability, cultural ties, and production diversity.

Therefore, the goal should not just be securing projects and exporting.

For example, there are sectors in Turkey, especially textiles, under structural cost pressure.

These sectors should now thoroughly put the Syria option on the table.

This certainly does not mean "leaving Turkey."

Our companies can continue to position Turkey as a design, financing, branding, supply, and management center.

In Syria, they will have secured a new production and market area.

For some companies that turned to Egypt in the past, Syria has now become an alternative that must be seriously evaluated.

Especially the Aleppo line maintains a natural integrity with the industrial and logistics ecosystem in southern Turkey.

FINAL WORDS: THE MEMORY AND FUTURE OF SYRIA

Dear readers, we cannot look at Syria solely through the window of war and destruction.

The memory of a great civilization lives on in the soil, bazaars, mosques, and streets of Syria.

You feel this in the Umayyad Mosque, at the tomb of Saladin, and in the presence of Ibn Arabi.

The indelible traces of Sultan Abdulhamid II still live on in the Hejaz Railway Station, the memory of telegraph lines, and the name of the Hamidiyah Souq.

Now Syria has a very long and arduous road ahead of it.

However, seeing the desire of the youth to work, the mobility of the Turkish business world, and the interest of regional capital, I reach this conclusion:

Yes, a new era has now begun for Syria.

Turkey's political and military weight in the region is already immense.

What Turkey needs to do from now on is to make this weight permanent in the economic field as well, with more diverse and long-term investments.

İsmail Vefa AK / Haber7
X: @Ismail_Vefa_AK