JEDDAH, 8 May 2005 — Syrian Minister of Finance Mohamed Al-Hussein has said that there are no restrictions on transferring investment profits out of Syria, ensuring the importance of this issue to investors and demonstrating his readiness to review all procedures relevant to the implementation of this measure, including the cancellation of any restrictions.

The minister’s announcement was made during a meeting with a delegation of Saudi businessmen, chaired by BMG Financial Advisors’ CEO Basil Al-Ghalayini. “The new investment climate in Syria, the transfer of investment returns and the movement of capital were among a list of priorities on the Saudi delegation’s agenda,” Al-Ghalayini said.

The status of newly licensed private banks in Syria and the suggested amendments to expand the role they play in the Syrian economy were also discussed.

In response to the Saudi delegation’s inquiry on the insurance companies’ law, which will allow GCC and Arab countries to enter the Syrian insurance market, Al-Hussein said that the problems that can hinder investment in this field are also present in other fields, including company proprietary law. New laws will be released in the coming two weeks. He has also welcomed any suggestions that could contribute to improving cooperation.

The minister also highlighted developments concerning the unification of the Syrian Lire’s exchange rate, whereby today there are only two exchange rates unlike the six rates that were present three years ago.

“The government is in the process of implementing swift and serious measures toward the correct means of unifying the exchange rate, as is the system in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries. This issue is a priority and the government has no ideas to float the exchange rate,” he said.

The Saudi businessmen also discussed similar issues with the Syrian Central Bank Governor Adib Mayyala and were presented with the free exchange rate mechanisms and the financial services and the procedures taken to control inflation.

Mayyala also demonstrated the Syrian Central Bank’s openness policy and its role in supporting private banks and the Syrian government in their efforts to perform more efficiently in financial investment projects.

The meeting also highlighted the improvements accomplished by the Syrian government with regard to its foreign debts and its influence on the economy.

The Chairman of the State’s Planning Authority, Abdullah Al-Dardeery underscored the positive indicators for the year 2004 and the economic changes Syria is witnessing at the meeting.

He presented the outline of the coming five-year plan (2006-2010) and its aims, and indicated that the most important aim is to increase the efficiency of the government’s management of the economic policy and augment the free movement of market forces.

He emphasized government’s support to create the most favorable investment environment for the majority of sectors, in order to decrease unemployment while boosting growth.

The Saudi delegation also met with Minister of Tourism Saadallah Agha Al-Qalaa. The minister assured Syria’s commitment in encouraging investment. The Saudi businessmen visited the Syrian Tourism Exhibition, which demonstrated several tourist locations and investment-ready projects without any administrative or legal barriers, and were encouraged to invest in this sector.

The delegation also met with the Minister of Health Maher El-Hosamy, who welcomed and encouraged investment in the Syrian pharmaceutical and health care industry. The Saudi delegation in turn presented the Saudi institutions’ aims and plans to expand out of the Kingdom, especially in places like Syria where the option of hiring large numbers of human resources, training them and improving the Syrian health care system is present.

The delegation also met with the Minister of Transport Makram Ebeid, who asked investors to participate in the ministry’s projects and focused on the proposed facilities, the importance of these projects and the Saudi private sector’s role in this domain. The minister pointed out the importance of the agreement that was recently signed with the Kingdom on tariff and tax exemptions on shipments between the two countries.

The first meeting of the Saudi-Syrian Businessmen Council, in its current term, was conducted on the sidelines of the Tourism Fair, which witnessed a positive participation from the Saudi delegation. The meeting discussed the most important issues regarding investment promotion between the two countries and the solutions to all barriers that are currently limiting the growth of investment.

At a press conference, Al-Ghalayini, who heads the Saudi side of the Saudi-Syrian Businessmen Council, stressed that relations between the two countries have always been strong. He also stressed on the vitality of developing them to encompass all potential fields of economic and commercial cooperation. He urged the need to increase the balance of trade between the two countries and the search for new horizons for investment partnerships.