A Syrian child walks past the rubble of destroyed buildings in an opposition-held neighbourhood of the southern city of Daraa on October 2, 2018. / AFP / Mohamad ABAZEED
DAMASCUS, Syria: With back-to-back trade fairs held in Damascus this month, Syria is hoping to jumpstart reconstruction of its devastated cities by inviting international investors to take part in lucrative opportunities.
But the absence of significant Western participants, the challenges posed by international sanctions and the lack of a political solution to the seven-year-old conflict point to massive hurdles ahead.
The government says it will only award contracts to "friendly countries" that have supported Syria throughout the civil war. But the relatively small-scale participation of companies from Syria's allies, Russia and Iran - both under U.S. sanctions - can hardly even begin to cover the enormous reconstruction costs in Syria, estimated to be anywhere between $250 billion and $400 billion.
