Syria To Seek $60 Billion In Financial Aid For First Six Months Post-Assad

Syria will need at least $60 billion in external assistance to rebuild its infrastructure once the regime of President Bashar al-Assad falls, said a leading opposition figure on Wednesday, as rebels continue to fight to unite opposition-held areas before a ‘final push’ towards the capital Damascus.

Syria will need at least $60 billion in external assistance to rebuild its infrastructure once the regime of President Bashar al-Assad falls, said a leading opposition figure on Wednesday, as rebels continue to fight to unite opposition-held areas before a ‘final push’ towards the capital Damascus.

George Sabra, the head of the Syrian National Council, was at a “Partnership to Invest in Future Syria” conference in Dubai, when he called for “the friends of Syria and the international community” to fulfil their “obligation towards Syria”, so as to aid refugees and repair towns that have been devastated by the 20-month long conflict.

Over the “first six months we need $60 billion” as immediate funding for reconstruction of the country, Sabra told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.

[quote]”We will be asking for loans at a later stage from the Friends of Syria and the international community… Syria is a founding member of the Arab League and a member of the international community, and they have a duty to help it,” he added, as cited by the Wall Street Journal.[/quote]

The Syrian National Council is one of the components of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, who have been recognised by the EU and certain oil-rich Arab nations as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. Sabra also urged delegates at the conference to immediately launch a ‘Marshall Plan’ for his country, along the lines of the massive post-World War II recovery programme for Europe.

Funding is needed to “resolve the most sensitive and outstanding issues,” starting with “securing housing for people after 2.5 million homes have been destroyed” in the conflict, Sabra said, as cited by AFP.

[quote]”What can be described as an economic ‘Marshall Plan for Syria’ cannot be delayed until the current regime fully collapses. It must be initiated immediately,” he added.[/quote]

“The regime is in the stage of decline and will not last long,” he later said.

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According to WSJ, the Syrian opposition is still focusing on securing investment for the areas of the country already controlled by rebel forces, such as Aleppo and Tal Abyad, before formally requesting for any loans from the international community.

Volkmar Wenzel, the German Ambassador and the personal representative of the federal foreign minister for the Arab World, agreed with Sabra’s assessment for the nation’s future needs; and said that Germany was interested in helping with reforms and humanitarian aid as well.

[quote]”The need assessment of $60 billion may be a right,” told Wenzel to reporters in Dubai. “However, the time frame of six months is highly unlikely, as we know from experience that matters of reconstruction and its implementation take time.”[/quote]

In the meantime, Osama Qadi, a Syrian opposition member who is coordinating investment commitments, told the conference that Syrian businessmen had already committed $5 billion to rebuild the economy; although Qadi estimated that Syria’s foreign reserves had shrunk to about $3 billion from $18 billion before the crisis.

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