An Initiative to Support the Syrian Pound, National Economy

DAMASCUS, (ST) – The Syrian Exporters Federation (SEF) in collaboration with a group of businessmen and industrialists launched an initiative to support the Syrian pound where they discharged an amount of foreign currency to the Syrian pound at the Central Bank of Syria in Damascus and the initiative continues for a week and include various Syrian governorates.

 Chairman of the  SEF,  Mohammed al -Sawah confirmed in a statement to local press that the initiative affirms the keenness of Syrian exporters, traders and industrialists to stand with the state to support and strengthen the national economy.

“The major base of the industrialists and traders will  only be the supportive of the national economy and this  is what we affirmed during the crisis,”Mr. al -Sawah addressed speculators on the Syrian pound.

For his part, General Director of Development and Export Promotion Agency, Ihab Ismandar said in a similar statement explaining that the initiative is a simple response to support the Syrian economy, which is facing unjust  economic sanctions that aim to undermine the Syrian people.

 “Supporting the economy is a duty of all Syrians in light of the hardships that the country experiences today, pointing out that these initiatives are evidence of the  awareness of economists under the current circumstances,” Mr. Ismandar stressed.

Secretary of the Federation of Syrian Exporters, Mazen Hammour, said that the federation seeks in various ways  to bring dollars from abroad in support of the state’s  treasury in foreign currencies, which reflects positively on the Syrian imports, production and inputs.

 For his part, Iyad Muhammad board member of the Office of the Syrian Exporters Federation revealed that rises we have seen in the dollar exchange rate is not real and the evidence that as soon as the announcement of the initiative and the support session by the Central Bank, the exchange rate fell directly.

He stressed that the currency’s strength is from the power of the country and it is a symbol of the Syrian economy and we do not accept manipulation through speculation to reduce the value of the currency.

Chairman of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, Osama Mustafa, pointed out that the Syrian pound represents safety for the Syrian people, which requires everyone to protect, expressing the hope that the initiative will be the first step towards other initiatives designed to support the Syrian economy and the lira.

Mr. Mustafa clarified that the large turnout by traders and industrialists to meet the invitation and support the lira embodies originality and patriotism.

Sharif al -Khatib