Agreement Signed in Damascus
Syria's Ministry of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding on 6 July 2026 with two Emirati partners to develop food security projects, agricultural value chains, and exports. The agreement was concluded in Damascus and signed by the agriculture minister, Basil al-Suwaidan.
The signatories were the ministry, the Emirati firm Meer Group, and Hullol for Agricultural Technology and Services. All three described the memorandum as a framework for sustainable agricultural development and stronger food security.
An Integrated Production Chain
The memorandum outlines an integrated system that covers agricultural planning, contract farming, financing, and technical support. It extends through harvesting, sorting, packaging, and cold storage, with the stated goal of preparing produce for regional and international markets.
By linking these stages under one arrangement, the parties aim to move Syrian agricultural output from the field to export markets within a single coordinated process. The financing and technical-support components are directed at growers, tying farm-level production to the later stages of sorting, packing, and storage.
Four Regional Centers
Under the plan, four processing centers are to be established across Syria's coastal, central, southern, and eastern regions. Each facility is intended to ready agricultural products for shipment abroad.
Spreading the centers across four regions is meant to draw produce from different agricultural zones rather than concentrating processing in a single area. The coastal, central, southern, and eastern locations cover much of the country's cultivated territory.
Export Route Through Iraq
Processed goods are to be transported overland through Iraq to reach markets in the United Arab Emirates. The parties said the corridor is designed to deliver Syrian products to Emirati buyers rapidly.
Routing exports through Iraq gives the arrangement a land link to the Gulf, with the processing centers positioned to feed that corridor.
Building on Recent Gulf Deals
The memorandum follows two agreements the agriculture ministry signed on 23 June 2026 with another Emirati company, Salal Group. The pair of arrangements, concluded within roughly two weeks, points to rising Gulf interest in Syria's farm sector and in the infrastructure needed to move its produce to export markets.