Asaad al-Shaibani also says that Syria’s new constitution will represent all of the country’s communities.
Syria’s new foreign minister has said that his country hopes to follow in the footsteps of economic powerhouses like Singapore and Saudi Arabia, as it begins to slowly rebuild after nearly 14 years of civil war.
“We need the help of the international community to help us in this new experiment,” Asaad al-Shaibani told the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday. He stressed that Syria’s transition government is already working on energy partnerships with several Gulf states.
He also promised that Syria’s new constitution will represent all of the country’s communities and reiterated calls for the easing of international sanctions, which continue to cripple Syria’s economy.
Speaking at a televised event with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, al-Shaibani said that “the big challenge is economic sanctions. We inherited a lot of problems from the Assad regime… but removing economic sanctions is key for the stability of Syria.”
Though some Western nations have moved to restore ties with Damascus since former President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, they remain cautious about the country’s new rulers, led by the former rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
“All the time they ask us about how to guarantee the rights of [this or] that group and how to guarantee the rights of the woman – in Syria all of us will be under the Constitution and under the rule of law,” al-Shaibani said.
A committee of experts will be formed to draft a new constitution – a process that could take up to four years – and will comprise all “the different groups of Syria” including women, al-Shaibani said.
Earlier this month, al-Shaibani made trips to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, during which he discussed bolstering ties and trade.
Qatar has pledged to initially supply Syria with 200 megawatts of electricity and gradually increase the amount, the Gulf country’s prime minister said during a recent visit to Damascus.