Syrian interim government raises wages amid economic crisis
The Syrian interim government, which assumed power after President Bashar al-Assad's fall and escape, announced on Sunday that it will raise the salaries of public sector employees by 400 per cent starting next month.
"(This is) the first step toward an emergency solution to the economic reality in the country," said Mohammed Abazid, the finance minister in the new government, to Reuters. The wage increase cost is estimated at around $170 million CAD.
The raise will be financed from existing state resources and a combination of regional aid, new investments, and efforts to unfreeze Syrian assets held abroad. Last spring, the World Bank noted that in 2022, 69 per cent of Syria's population lived in poverty, while 20 per cent were in extreme poverty.
The Syrian government appeals to the US: sanctions target the nation, not the Assad regime
Syria's Foreign Minister Asad Hasan al-Shibani appealed to the United States to lift the crippling sanctions imposed on his country, emphasizing that they are an obstacle to the rapid reconstruction of the war-torn country. Shibani, who was visiting Qatar, told reporters that the sanctions are currently aimed at the Syrian people, not, as previously, the Assad regime.
The international community is waiting to see how the new leaders in Damascus will utilize their power and is in no hurry to lift the economic restrictions imposed on Syria, noted the Voice of America portal. It reminded that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who visited Syria on Friday, stated that lifting the sanctions imposed on Damascus will depend on transformative processes in the country.
"Europe will support, but Europe would not be a sponsor of new Islamist structures," the German minister declared. During her visit, she emphasized that the transformation process should include all social groups and that Syria should become a safe home for all its residents.
On December 8, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control in Damascus, overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive after 24 years of his rule.
