Executive Summary
The Ambition
Presently, Syria confronts considerable economic hurdles, with its GDP ranking 130th globally. Nevertheless, the nation possesses immense latent potential—rooted in its strategic geography, abundant natural resources, and skilled human capital. This potential makes a transformative economic advancement achievable through a lucid vision and meticulously crafted strategies.
The paramount goal is defined as:
Propelling the Syrian economy to achieve the 30th global ranking by the year 2045.
Strategic Timeline
To secure economic transformation and foster sustainable development, Syria Vision 2045 unfolds across three principal phases spanning two decades. Each phase concentrates on distinct objectives and integrated implementation pathways.
- Objective: To establish robust foundations for a resilient and sustainable economy by revitalizing critical infrastructure and cultivating an enabling environment for business and investment.
- Focus Areas:
- Reconstructing essential infrastructure (transport networks, power grids, water systems, communications).
- Instituting supportive economic and developmental legislation and policies.
- Vigorously stimulating domestic and foreign investment.
- Advancing education and vocational training aligned with labor market demands.
- Bolstering key productive sectors including agriculture, industry, and technology.
- Objective: To attain regional competitiveness through a dedicated focus on innovation, quality standards, and the strategic expansion of high-yield economic sectors.
- Focus Areas:
- Cultivating a vibrant ecosystem for entrepreneurship and the digital economy.
- Empowering national enterprises to penetrate global markets.
- Enhancing the quality of life via advancements in health and educational services.
- Investing strategically in advanced technologies and value-added manufacturing.
- Forging deeper economic integration with neighboring nations and international partners.
- Objective: To elevate Syria into a global economic and technological center through sustained investment in cutting-edge innovation and forward-looking ventures.
- Focus Areas:
- Championing scientific research and fostering innovation across diverse sectors.
- Establishing Syria as a regional nucleus for innovation and advanced industries.
- Driving comprehensive digital transformation across all domains.
- Securing enduring economic and social sustainability.
- Achieving the target of the 30th global economic ranking.
Key Players in the Transformation
Achieving swift and sustainable developmental progress necessitates the synergistic cooperation and integration of three primary actors. Each sector fulfills a crucial role in executing Syria Vision 2045 and realizing the envisioned economic and social metamorphosis.
The government sector serves as the bedrock for realizing the vision, undertaking responsibilities such as:
- Formulating and enacting policies and legislation that invigorate the business and investment climate.
- Executing large-scale infrastructure projects to provide a solid platform for economic growth.
- Upholding principles of good governance and transparency to ensure the sustainability of economic expansion.
- Actively stimulating investment by offering incentives and facilities to both local and international investors.
- Fostering collaboration with the private and non-profit sectors to guarantee holistic and integrated development.
Regarded as the most agile and responsive force in achieving the vision’s objectives, the private sector contributes by:
- Driving industrial growth through targeted investment in high-potential economic sectors.
- Generating substantial new employment opportunities and mitigating unemployment via investment initiatives.
- Spearheading the development of the digital and technological economy, positioning Syria as an innovation center.
- Boosting national exports and attracting vital foreign currency to reinforce economic stability.
- Embracing corporate social responsibility through meaningful contributions to community development.
The non-profit sector stands as a vital component in advancing inclusive development, concentrating its efforts on:
- Supporting the most vulnerable segments of society and enhancing overall living standards.
- Initiating impactful education and training programs designed to empower youth for the labor market.
- Strengthening healthcare provisions and social welfare programs to secure an improved quality of life.
- Playing a key role in the rehabilitation and revitalization of communities adversely affected by crises.
- Nurturing a culture of endowments (Waqf) and volunteerism to underpin long-term social sustainability.
Integration between the three players:
- To ensure the success of Syria's Vision 2045, coordinated efforts and close cooperation between these three sectors are essential.
- This requires new participatory mechanisms that enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors, along with the role of the non-profit sector in bridging development gaps.
- The success of this vision depends on collective will and flexible strategies capable of adapting to global changes and achieving sustainable economic transformation for Syria.
Core Strategic Paths
To realize a sustainable economic and developmental renaissance, Syria Vision 2045 is built upon two fundamental strategic paths. These serve as the foundational pillars supporting comprehensive development, aiming to reconstruct the economic base and catalyze profound transformation across diverse sectors, thereby securing a prosperous and enduring future.
Prioritization Criteria:
The prioritization of efforts across sectors adheres to the following benchmarks:
- Commence with high-growth sectors capable of delivering swift, substantial returns.
- Initiate activities in sectors that do not necessitate intricate or pre-existing complex infrastructure.
- Concentrate on sectors optimally aligned with Syria's current resources, capabilities, and context.
Robust infrastructure is the cornerstone of any strong and sustainable economy, serving as the bedrock upon which all other sectors thrive. This pathway focuses on rebuilding and developing Syria’s infrastructure to create a stable economic and social environment, attract investment, and stimulate productivity.
Key Infrastructure Sectors:
- Power: Ensuring stable energy supply to support industrial and technological growth.
- Water: Developing water networks to guarantee water security and environmental sustainability.
- Roads and Transportation: Constructing and modernizing the transportation network to connect cities and facilitate economic activity.
- Technical and Vocational Training: Equipping the national workforce with the skills needed for the modern job market.
- Oil and Gas: Leveraging natural resources to support the national economy.
- Internet Network: Building a digital infrastructure that supports digital transformation and the knowledge economy.
- Healthcare: Strengthening the healthcare sector to ensure the well-being of citizens and achieve sustainable development.
- Banking and Finance: Developing the financial system to ensure investment flow and promote economic growth.
Why is this pathway crucial?
- It forms the foundation for successful economic and social development.
- It stimulates investment, enhances productivity, and improves quality of life.
- It empowers other developmental sectors to achieve ambitious goals.
This pathway focuses on developing productive and service sectors that will directly contribute to a qualitative leap in the Syrian economy, stimulating employment, innovation, and investment.
Key Development Sectors:
- Real Estate: Providing a modern urban environment that supports urban development.
- Tourism: Leveraging Syria’s rich history and diverse natural beauty to attract tourists.
- Industry and Mining: Developing local production and boosting exports.
- Education and Scientific Research: Building a knowledge-based economy driven by innovation.
- Technology and Knowledge Economy: Transforming Syria into a regional hub for digital technology.
- Agriculture and Livestock: Achieving food security and enhancing agricultural exports.
- Services and Trade: Stimulating service and trade sectors to facilitate economic growth.
- Transportation and Logistics: Transforming Syria into a commercial hub connecting continents.
- Sports and Entertainment: Supporting the sports and entertainment sector to enhance quality of life.
- Culture and Arts: Highlighting Syria’s cultural identity and promoting creative industries.
Why is this pathway crucial?
- It helps create new job opportunities and stimulates economic growth.
- It contributes to diversifying income sources and achieving economic sustainability.
- It enhances Syria’s competitiveness in regional and global markets.
Towards Achieving Syria's 2045 Vision
The infrastructure path provides the basic foundation for development.
The path of development sectors leads the economy towards excellence and global competitiveness.
Through strategic planning, effective investment, and empowering national talent, Syria can achieve sustainable economic and developmental transformation, placing it in a leading position regionally and internationally.
Strategic Objectives
Twelve strategic objectives have been delineated for the public sector:
- Establish and operationalize robust systems for security, safety, justice, and combating corruption.
- Consolidate ties of cooperation and integration with allied and friendly nations.
- Undertake strategic investments in the nation’s core infrastructure sectors.
- Formulate and implement the necessary legislative and regulatory frameworks to drive comprehensive development and cultivate an attractive investment climate for both domestic and foreign investors.
- Institute effective governance mechanisms for the activities of the private and non-profit sectors.
- Devise and implement an expedited mechanism for the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure and residential units.
- Address and eliminate disguised unemployment within the public sector workforce.
- Actively encourage and facilitate the growth of the Waqf (endowment) sector.
- Systematically collect Zakat (charitable obligation) from individuals and private sector entities, ensuring its distribution aligns with established Zakat principles.
- Provide dedicated support to Syrian institutions and companies to enhance their access to international markets.
- Develop a functional mechanism to actively involve Syrian expatriates in value-adding development projects within the country that also offer them viable annual returns.
- Establish a comprehensive legislative framework specifically designed to support and nurture Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Recognized as the most dynamic player, the private sector’s initial focus should be directed towards development sectors that prioritize:
- Rapidly reactivating production cycles across all economic sectors and securing swift inflows of foreign currency.
- Maximizing the employment of the available workforce across diverse sectors.
- Integrating and promoting the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as standard practice within the private sector.
- Fostering the culture of Waqf (endowments) and fulfilling the obligation of Zakat.
- Strategically reinvesting profits within Syria, with a pronounced focus on high-potential, high-profitability sectors.
In light of Syria’s recent hardships, activating the non-profit sector’s full potential is imperative, with a strategic focus on these overarching goals:
- Spearheading and coordinating volunteerism efforts on a national scale.
- Providing targeted support to economically disadvantaged populations.
- Launching comprehensive initiatives for rehabilitation, skills development, and technical/vocational training.
- Implementing and expanding initiatives dedicated to the care of orphans.
- Providing dedicated care and support for the families of martyrs, detainees, and those injured during the revolution.
- Substantially enhancing healthcare programs and accessibility.
- Actively supporting the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons and refugees.
- Championing initiatives that advance school-level, university, and scientific research education.
- Cultivating the growth and impact of the Waqf (endowment) sector.
Critical Enablers
Enablers constitute the essential bedrock upon which strategic objectives can be achieved and development paths successfully navigated. They represent a synergistic combination of factors, resources, and tools designed to accelerate implementation and boost operational efficiency across all targeted sectors.
These enablers encompass enabling legislation and policies, robust infrastructure, accessible finance and investment channels, advanced technology and innovation ecosystems, and skilled human capital. Each element contributes to laying the necessary groundwork for launching development initiatives and projects. Crucially, the effective integration of these enablers fosters a dynamic environment conducive to economic growth, ensuring that the desired transformations are realized with efficiency and long-term sustainability.
Within Syria Vision 2045, five principal enablers are identified:
- A pool of qualified human capital possessing the drive for dedicated work.
- The capacity to leverage Syria’s pivotal strategic location as a nexus connecting three continents.
- The significant opportunity to harness modern technologies for advancement across all domains.
- The potential residing in untapped subterranean natural resources (wealth).
- The inherent strength derived from Syria’s rich geographical, civilizational, cultural, and ethnic diversity.