Syria’s Autonomous Administration to pass investment law following exemption from Caesar Act
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) is about to pass a law for investments after Caesar Act sanctions were lifted on northeast Syria’s regions, an official said on Sunday.
On May 12, the US Department of the Treasury issued a general license authorizing activities in northeast and northwest Syria in 12 economic sectors.
The sectors included agriculture, information and telecommunication, power grid infrastructure, construction, finance, clean energy, transportation and warehousing, water and waste management, health services, education, manufacturing, and trade.
Salman Barudo, the co-chair of Economy and Agriculture Board of the AANES, said that the investment law, when issued, would give confidence to investors and encourage them to invest.
“Foreign companies were afraid of making investments in the region because of the US sanctions imposed on the Syrian government,” Barudo added to North Press.
In June 2019, the US administration imposed sanctions that targeted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his inner circle to choke off revenue for his government in a bid to force it back to the UN and put an end to the country’s decade-long war.
Barudo said that exempting the region from Caesar Act sanctions would revive it economically.
He believed that the region was significantly affected during the years wherein Caesar Act was imposed on Syria, and “lifting them at the present time is something good and welcomed by the Autonomous Administration.”
The Autonomous Administration was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS military.
The official pointed out that the Autonomous Administration would focus on agricultural projects and self-sufficiency to improve the people’s living conditions and achieve food security.