#UAE Investors Weigh Projects in Syria as Ties Warm: Al-Watan - Bloomberg

UAE Investors Weigh Projects in Syria as Ties Warm: Al-Watan - Bloomberg

Investors from the United Arab Emirates are looking at pumping money into Syria’s renewable energy sector, Al-Watan reported, citing the head of Syrian Investment Authority.

Syrian and Emirati investors have teamed up to submit project proposals to the country’s electricity ministry, Madian Diab was cited as saying by the pro-government newspaper. It didn’t provide further details.

Syria, backed by the UAE’s regional rival Iran, had been a pariah in the Arab world since the breakout of its civil war a decade ago. But in recent years, Gulf Arab governments have been restoring relations with the country, with the UAE reopening its embassy in Damascus in December 2018.

In March, President Bashar al-Assad visited the UAE, his first official visit to an Arab country since civil war, and met with the de facto ruler of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.

Last year, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported that UAE firms and the country’s electricity ministry signed an agreement to build a photovoltaic power station in the Damascus suburb.

Diab told Al-Watan that Syria is also discussing investments with Iranian firms in the industrial sector, mainly recycling waste to produce renewable energy. Russian firms are also studying potential investments, he said.