WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund plans to work with Syria to help it reintegrate into the global economy, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday, citing a meeting on the war-scarred nation held this week.
Georgieva told reporters that Syria’s central bank governor and finance minister attended the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank this week for the first time in over 20 years.
“Our intention is to, first and foremost, help them rebuild institutions so they can plug themselves in the world economy,” she said.
Officials from the IMF and World Bank met with Syrian officials and other finance ministers and key stakeholders to discuss the country’s reconstruction on the sidelines of the meetings in Washington.
The high-level Syrian government delegation’s Washington trip marked the first U.S. visit by Syria’s new authorities since former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.
Much of Syria’s infrastructure has been left in ruins by nearly 14 years of war sparked by the government authorities’ deadly crackdown on protests against Assad.
The Islamist-led government that took over after Assad was ousted has sought to rebuild Syria’s ties in the region and further afield and to win support for reconstruction efforts.
But tough U.S. sanctions imposed during Assad’s rule remain in place.
In January, the U.S. issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage humanitarian aid, but this has had limited effect.
Reuters reported in February that efforts to bring in foreign financing to pay public sector salaries had been hampered by uncertainty over whether this could breach U.S. sanctions.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Joe Bavier)
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