Meeting on the Sidelines
Syrian Minister of Finance Mohammad Yusr Barnieh and Central Bank of Syria Governor Safwat Raslan met Fawzi al-Hunaif, Director General and Chairman of the Board of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, held in Bangkok in October 2026.
A representative of Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Yusuf al-Fares, also attended the talks. The annual meetings ran in the Thai capital from 12 to 18 October 2026, drawing finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world.
Rescheduling Old Debt
The discussions centered on resolving Syria's outstanding debts to the Fund, which date back to development projects carried out in past decades. The two sides exchanged views on a mechanism to reschedule the debt on favorable terms.
Concrete proposals, the finance ministry said, would be taken up in the coming weeks, when the two sides are due to resume contact on the terms of any rescheduling.
Reviving Development Projects
The parties also discussed resuming the Fund's development activities in Syria, including the maintenance and rehabilitation of projects it had financed in earlier years.
Talks covered Syrian access to the Fund's Padeer facility, which supports small and medium-sized enterprises, and ways to accelerate financing for the private sector.
Regional Coordination
Al-Hunaif affirmed the Fund's commitment to supporting stability and sustainable development in Syria. He said the Fund intended to arrange a dedicated dialogue session on the country within the Coordination Group of Arab and regional development institutions, a body that brings together the region's main development lenders.
The meeting was one of several that Syria's financial delegation held with lenders and development bodies during the week in Bangkok, as the government works to restore access to external financing for recovery and reconstruction after years in which such channels were largely closed.