Iran should play a more active role in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria, as the US and its regional ally Saudi Arabia are attempting to engage in the reconstruction process, a parliamentarian said.
Mohammad Javad Abtahi criticized the government’s poor economic diplomacy, stressing that Iran should not pass up investment opportunities to countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
“[Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad has complained several times to Iranian parliamentary delegations about Iran’s weakness in investing in Syria,” he said in a recent talk to ICANA.
The United States was to provide financial reconstruction aid to Syria, but has conditioned it on Iran's withdrawal from Syria.
According to Abtahi, the US is encouraging Saudi Arabia to invest in the country.
After his surprise announcement about the withdrawal of all 2,000 US troops from Syria last December, US President Donald Trump said in a tweet that Saudi Arabia would spend money in this country.
“Saudi Arabia has now agreed to spend the necessary money needed to help rebuild Syria, instead of the United States,” Trump wrote.
A lawmaker has criticized the government’s poor economic diplomacy, stressing that Iran should not pass up investment opportunities in Syria to countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia
Saudi officials did not immediately comment but an official at the Saudi Embassy in Washington later told CNBC that the kingdom has not made any major new financial pledges to Syria since August, when it committed $100 million to a fund to stabilize areas of Syria liberated from the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group by a US-led coalition.
No Appetite for Saudi Aid
Abtahi said the US is seeking to maintain its presence in Damascus through its Arab ally.
Nevertheless, Assad’s government is unlikely to allow Riyadh to help rebuild his country since it was “among the key players in Syria’s destruction project”.
“Under the circumstances, the [Iranian] government should take serious practical steps to invest in Syria’s reconstruction,” he said.
Besides its active presence, he added, the government should also motivate the private sector to make inroads into Syrian markets.
Syria has been stuck in a multisided civil war for nearly eight years, which has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians and taken a heavy toll on its infrastructure.
Peace efforts have been underway since the beginning of the conflict, the latest of which is the Astana initiative launched jointly by Iran and Russia, which back the Syrian government, and Turkey, a supporter of the opposition parties.
Multiple victories of the Syrian central government over militant groups in the past couple of years have helped restore peace to the country to some extent, providing a breathing space to push forward reconstruction process.
Iran has provided much-needed assistance and military advice to Damascus over the years, but has apparently been moving slowly in helping rebuild the Arab country.
