Revitalizing Agro industry of Syrian Economy Project launched 

In cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, the pioneering project on revitalizing Agro Industry of Syrian Economy (RAISE) was launched on Wednesday at the Dama Rose Hotel in Damascus.

The project is implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with funding by the Russian Federation .

The Minister of Industry, Dr. Abdul Qadir Jokhadar, said in a speech: “Based on the Syrian government’s interest in enhancing continuous cooperation with international organizations, especially UNIDO which has great experience at the global level in the field of industrial development, it was agreed to implement this important project”.

Minister Jokhadar indicated that the project aims to revitalize the agri-food industries sector by strengthening the capabilities of technical centers supporting these industries and the services they provide in parallel with developing the concerned companies and their products and enhancing their competitive capabilities.

The Minister of Industry affirmed the Ministry’s full readiness for strong cooperation in order to achieve the goals and objectives of this project and to develop and expand it in the future to include a larger number of beneficiary agencies and sectors.

The Regional Representative of “UNIDO” Emmanuel Calenzi stressed that this project is characterized by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and marketing their products and improving their quality, calling for investing all available capabilities that would serve and develop work in this field.

He stressed the importance of benefitting from the renewable energy sources being environmentally friendly and can save money and supply continuous energy that ensures the continuity of the work of projects and machines.

The representative of the Russian Embassy in Damascus, Ivan Korostlev, stressed the need to support Syria at all levels, calling for more efforts and work to lift the unjust economic blockade imposed on the Syrian people.

The project manager at UNIDO, Rafik Al-Feki, indicated that the project , which was developed by the organization in agreement with the Ministry of Industry for a period of 3 years and with a total budget of $2,407,150, seeks to create, support and enhance the reduction of the negative impacts of the challenges facing the agricultural industrial sector, and contribute to revitalization of productive capacities to meet local needs, create job opportunities, and enhance the sustainability of food security.

Al-Feki indicated that the beneficiaries of the project are public and private institutions and companies working in the agro-food industries sector as well as groups affected by war and economic blockade with a special focus on youth and women.

Following the signing of the project memorandum with the representative of “UNIDO”, the Minister of Industry indicated, that the Ministry will follow up the implementation of this project in all its stages by providing studies and data in cooperation with the private sector, in a way that achieves production development and consolidating Syrian product competitiveness in the markets.

In turn , Ghazwan Al-Masri , Head of the Federation of Chambers of Industry, affirmed the federation’s readiness to fully cooperate with the Ministry of Industry to make this project a success through providing the necessary expertise and data to carry out different industrial projects in various industrial fields including agricultural products and others.

Rawaa Ghanam