Background
Following
the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was
administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967
Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. In recent
years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the
return of the Golan Heights.
Syria's
predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5%
annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per
capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the
economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to
permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious
accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation
allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking
sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop.
ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing
further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the
international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and
downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and
government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic
constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population
growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution.
Holidays
Jan 1 - New Year's Day
Jan 21* - Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
Feb 10* - Islamic New Year
Mar 8 - Revolution Day
Mar 21 - Mothers Day
Mar 22 - Arab League Day
Apr 21* - Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet)
Apr 17 - National Independence Day
May 1 - Labour Day
May 6 - Martyrs' Day
Oct 6 - October Liberation War
Nov 14-16* - Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
Dec 25 - Christmas Day
Ps:
Muslim festivals(*) are timed according to local sightings of various
phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations.
Phone Codes
Country Code: 963
Outgoing International Code: 00
Resources
Market Research
CIA - The World Factbook - Syria
This
website displays a wide range of detail information about Syria via
introducing under 8 different fields as its geography,people,
government, economy, communications, transportation, military,
transnational issues.
About Syria
There
is available to find out Syria's general outlook on the issues of its
social and business profile, passport/visa, money, accomodation,
government, duty free, health...etc
Gate Syria
This
webpage is organized as a Syrian business directory for the potential
investors seeking business and commercial opportunities in Syria.
Business in Syria
There are listed comprehensive information about business and industries in Syria.
Trade Information
Syrian Consulting Bureau(SCB) for Development and Investment
SCB
carries out independent economic research and offers services to
national and multinational aid-giving agencies interested in the
development of Syria, and to private international investors interested
in investing or doing business in Syria.
Federation of the Syrian Chambers of Commerce
This
organization looks after commercial, economic and trade activities,
acts for chambers of commerce, holds economic conferences and trade
fairs including country information, a Syrian trade directory(in
Arabic), investment laws and regulations.
Syrian-European Business Centre (SEBC)
The
SEBC is responsible for the management of the Business Sector Support
Program (BSSP) funded by the European Union. The business network
allows the cross-flow of information between the European Commission
and Syria.
The Chambers of Commerce in Syria
There are listed the Chambers of Commerce of Syria including their contact information.
Syrian Government Ministries
It provides the list of Syrian government ministries and so forth.
U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs - Washington
It
represents a consular information sheet about Syria through American
business outlook to expand the relations between these 2 states.
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