1st major international agreement publicly announced by Syria since US president lifted sanctions on Damascus
Syria's Maritime Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with Dubai-based logistics giant DP World on Friday paving the way for a comprehensive $800 million investment in the country's port and logistics sector.
According to Syria's official news agency SANA, the agreement aims to develop, manage, and operate a multipurpose terminal at the Port of Tartus as well as to establish industrial zones, free zones, inland ports, and cargo transit hubs across key strategic areas in Syria.
The memorandum outlines a broad plan to increase operational efficiency at Tartus Port, enhance its role as a regional and international trade hub, and facilitate smoother cargo movement throughout the country, it added.
This is the first major international agreement publicly announced by the Syrian government since US President Donald Trump declared the lifting of sanctions on Damascus earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Trump said at the 2025 Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh that he would order the removal of “brutal and crippling” US sanctions on Syria to give that country “a chance at greatness.”
He said that he made the decision after his discussions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Syria had been under wide-ranging US, EU, and UK sanctions since 2011 in response to atrocities committed by the Assad regime during the brutal suppression of the popular uprising.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the new Syrian administration led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa has repeatedly called for the removal of these sanctions, describing them as a major barrier to reconstruction.
Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party's decades-long grip on power that began in 1963.
