H. E. President Bashar Al-Assad outlined in his recent landmark inauguration speech that the enemies of Syria continue to support terrorism in Syria have tried to destroy all aspects of life within it. The killing, which targeted Syrians from all walks of life without discrimination or exception was concurrent with the systematic destruction of our infrastructure, which took decades to build and consumed the efforts, money, sweat and blood of generations of Syrians.
President Al-Assad added that there is no doubt that this widespread destruction, which has affected the entire nation, has also affected every individual, particularly in terms of people’s livelihood.
Since the greatest damage to our economy was inflicted on the vital material structures of economic growth and sustainability, our economic recovery should start from the same point by focusing on rebuilding these material structures: the buildings, houses, factories, roads, and all other forms of infrastructure that was destroyed or sabotaged. This in itself is a very wide sector that will benefit the different strata of society without exception, and will influence positively and strongly the other economic sectors, which will not recover fully without a comprehensive reconstruction, President Al-Assad underscored.
President Al-Assad asserted that reconstruction is the title of the economy for the coming period, asserting the need as to:
- We need to concentrate our collective efforts on reconstruction.
- Work, in parallel, to restore all other sectors that will be complementary to reconstruction especially craftsmen and the small and medium-sized industries that can grow and expand very quickly.
- Creating jobs in a short period of time.
- Continue our strategic support of the public and agricultural sectors, which constitute the main lever of the Syrian economy and had a significant role in our resilience during the current crisis.
- The reconstruction process and the associated economic recovery should not be linked in timing to the end of the crisis.
- In fact, the state has already started to create the necessary legislations and regulatory framework that will facilitate and encourage investment in this area.
- Let our race against time be in favour of building not destruction; and let us continue to prove, as we have done during the past three years, that the will of Syrians is many folds stronger than the will and acts of terrorists and traitors.
Dr. Mohammad Abdo Al-Ibrahim