Four Seasons, the company that managed the most luxurious hotel property in Damascus and a symbol of the liberalisation of the Syrian economy under Bashar Al-Assad, has announced that it was leaving the country.

A new very influential investor is expanding his activities across various business sectors in a similar fashion to other individuals who have benefitted from the Syrian war.

This is an edited transcript of the speech of Bashar Al-Assad on May 20 following the inauguration of the International Islamic Cham Center for Confronting Terrorism and Extremism, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Religious Endowments.

The UK has published regulations on sanctions on Syria that will come into force if the UK leaves the European Union.

The list below includes the names of all the individuals that have been blacklisted by the European Union since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011.

The government has announced a new plan to rehabilitate the Barada valley area with the aim of securing water supplies to the Syrian capital and attracting investment in the real estate sector.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

Syria and Venezuela talked last week of boosting their economic relations during the visit to Damascus of Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has tightened further the allocation of oil products sold to private car owners as part of its efforts to face the massive shortage in oil products.

A private sector company owned by influential investors has gained a quasi-monopoly on the import into Syria of oil products, highlighting the key role this company plays as the government battles to reduce shortages.

Syria is set to handover to Russia the commercial port of Tartous, another major economic asset Damascus is giving away.

As energy shortages get more acute the Syrian government has announced plans for a more severe rationing of petrol and blamed Egypt for preventing Iranian oil supplies through the Suez Canal.

A very rare public spat has highlighted tensions between Samer Foz and Rami Makhlouf, Syria’s two most powerful business cronies.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria including a special section this week on Trump's Golan decision.

The minister of tourism has estimated the losses of the sector since 2011 at some USD 50 billion.

One of Syria’s most prominent new business cronies has been arrested in Kuwait on charges of money laundering.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

In this article The Syria Report addresses key issues raised in the debate over western sanctions on Syria and makes a number of policy recommendations.

The following text is a transcript by state news agency SANA of the speech of Bashar Al-Assad delivered before the heads of local councils elected in September 2018 during the local administration elections:

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

The Syrian government is continuing its policy of granting economic benefits to Syrian military personal, including several measures that were passed recently and that may partly be a response to growing discontent among loyalist segments of the population.

The Syrian government assessed last week the progress of the working group tasked with producing a reconstruction programme for Syria.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

European sanctions inflicted last week on several Syrian investors and companies are disrupting more than expected their business activity.

For the first time, the European Union has put sanctions on the business elite that has emerged from the Syrian war as well as on its most symbolic investment project.

As expected, the contract for the development of the Yalbugha real estate compound in central Damascus has been awarded to Wassim Qattan, 45 years after works on the project started.

The EU General Court has upheld the blacklisting of Makhlouf family members and of Syriatel, one of Syria’s largest private sector companies and property of Rami Makhlouf.

Syria’s steel industry is struggling to increase production as demand remains low and limited construction works take place in the country.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

Syriatel has received the initial approval to list its shares on the Damascus Securities Exchange.

Syria and Crimea have signed several economic and trade agreements, highlighting the role of the peninsula in the Syrian-Russian relation.

The English transcript of the speech of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Army Day on August 01, 2018.

Syria’s PM, Imad Khamis, visited last week the two coastal provinces of Tartous and Lattakia where he inaugurated a host of projects including the first government project or building to be named after Bashar Al-Assad.

The half year results posted by Syria’s two mobile phone companies confirm the growing gap between them as Rami Makhlouf’s Syriatel now holds more than two thirds of the market.

The Ministry of Transport has issued the new regulations pertaining to the licensing of airlines, which seem designed to protect existing companies, including Cham Wings.

Home owners in the mostly loyalist Damascus suburb of Adra Al-Omalia will have to pay 40 percent of the reconstruction cost of their properties, according to a government official.

A new hotel property is set to open in Lattakia, which is among the rare parts of the country still hosting some investment in the tourism industry.

Cham Wings has launched a new service to Amman which highlights the warming of the relations between the two countries.

Syria’s last surviving classified weekly is reportedly closing as it falls victim of a decline in the advertising market, a switch to online media and a dispute between its owners.

Updated on July 26, 2018 (see bottom of article): Two cargo ships transporting wheat from Crimea to Syria have been delisted from registries, while a Makhlouf-related businessman has been removed from the EU sanctions list.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

The Ministry of Tourism has granted a license for the management of a boutique hotel in central Damascus to a UAE company.

According to a local media, a Spanish company is considering supplying a photovoltaic power station in Syria, a very rare example of western interest in the Syrian economy.

The text of the interview of Bashar Al-Assad by Russian NTV Channel in Damascus on Sunday June 24, 2018.

The text of the interview of Bashar Al-Assad by Iran's Al-Alam TV in Damascus on June 13, 2018.

The text of the interview of Bashar Al-Assad by Britain’s Mail on Sunday, in Damascus on June 10, 2018.

A decree granting citizenship to dozens of foreigners, including prominent Syrian investors, has created an uproar in Lebanon.

The Syrian government is increasing the pay of its soldiers by 30 percent.

The Syrian regime is clamping down on Ayman Jaber, one of Syria’s most prominent warlords and a long-time business partner of the Assad family.