ISTANBUL

The IMF said Monday that Syria's economy is showing signs of recovery, with the administration adopting tight fiscal and monetary stance in order to ensure economic and financial stability.

"A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Ron van Rooden, visited Damascus from November 10–13, 2025, to discuss the authorities’ fiscal and financial sector reform priorities, as well as supporting technical assistance activities," it said in a statement.

Van Rooden stressed that the Syrian economy is showing signs of recovery and improving prospects, reflecting the improvement in consumer and investor sentiment under Syria’s new regime, its gradual re-integration with the regional and global economy as sanctions are being lifted, and the return of more than one million refugees.

"The authorities have been able to adopt a tight fiscal and monetary stance within the many constraints they face, with a view to ensuring economic and financial stability," he said.

In the results of the fiscal discussions between IMF staff and Syrian officials, the fund said it will provide "extensive" technical assistance to strengthen the fiscal framework by helping to improve public financial management and revenue administration, finalize new tax legislation, and develop a strategy to address Syria’s legacy debts and strengthen debt management.

To help Syria develop an "appropriate" monetary policy framework that would support ensuring low and stable inflation, the IMF said that it will provide technical assistance to support the Syrian administration with the formulation of new financial sector legislation and regulation, the rehabilitation of the payment and banking systems, and to rebuild capacity at the Central Bank to ensure it can effectively implement monetary policy and supervise the financial system.

"Reliable economic data remain scarce but are essential for the authorities to be able to formulate, implement, and monitor economic policies. Technical assistance will focus on improving statistics, which would also help pave the way for the resumption of Article IV consultations with Syria – the last Article IV consultation with Syria was concluded in 2009," van Rooden noted.

Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the fund works to assess each country’s economic health and head off future problems.

Van Rooden added that the visit reaffirmed the IMF’s commitment to support the authorities in their efforts to rehabilitate Syria’s economy and key economic institutions.

The Syrian civil war ended last December after Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

After the establishment of a new government led by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria has pursued political and economic reforms while promoting social cohesion and expanding cooperation with regional and international partners.

Syria has also been implementing fiscal and economic reforms to attract foreign investments.