Syria's Complicated Path to Economic Recovery

Vittorio Maresca di Serracapriola on sanctions relief in Syria.It has been over a year since Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad fled to Moscow and a new government took power in Damascus. Assad’s ouster triggered one of the most rapid reversals of a sanctions regime in recent history. The European Union and the United States essentially raced to be the first to lift sanctions on Syria and most restrictions on engagement with the Syrian economy were removed by December 2025.Encouragingly, the Syrian economy is outperforming expectations. But the path to economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy has been far from smooth. Today’s guest today works directly on issues of sanctions relief, banking reform, and economic recovery in Syria.Vittorio Maresca di Serracapriola is an economic analyst based in Beirut. He works at Karam Shaar Advisory, where he advises companies and institutions trying to re-engage with Syria. He is also a member of the Bologna Initiative for Sanctions Relief.The Sanctions Age is hosted by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj and Josefine Petrick.To receive an email when new episodes are released, access episode transcripts, and read the hosts reflections on each episode, sign-up for the The Sanctions Age newsletter on Substack: https://www.thesanctionsage.com/