Damascus, Sept. 15 (SANA)Syrian officials pitchedinvestment opportunitiesinenergy,telecommunicationsand industry to a visitingU.S. business delegation in Damascus, outlining plans to expand private-sector participation, modernize digital infrastructure and streamline investment approvals.Officials from the ministries of Economy and Industry, Communications and Information Technology, and Energy held three roundtable meetings with the delegation on Monday, part of a series of talks aimed at opening new channels for U.S.-Syrian economic cooperation.

Economy and Industry MinisterNidal al-Shaarsaid Syria was seeking to move away from an economy dominated by licenses and government approvals toward a free and competitive market in which private businesses drive investment, employment, innovation and production.The government, he said, would increasingly focus on regulation, competition and institution-building.Al-Shaar said Damascus wants foreign companies to see Syria as more than a market for reconstruction or imported goods, encouraging them instead to establish production, sourcing and distribution operations in the country and use it as a base for serving regional markets.“American companies matter to us not simply because they bring capital, but because they bring capabilities and expertise,” al-Shaar said, citing technology, project management, financial engineering, productivity and governance among areas in which U.S. companies could contribute.

Digital infrastructure and 5G investment

Communications and Information Technology MinisterAbdul Salam Haykalsaid rebuilding Syria’s existing telecommunications infrastructure would not be enough to meet future demand.He said the government intends to develop digital networks capable of supporting the country for decades, with a national internet backbone among its priorities to improve connectivity, increase capacity and raise service quality.

New investment in fifth-generation, or 5G, mobile networks is also planned as part of efforts to expand digital services, Haykal said.

Energy sector seeks faster investment

Assistant Energy Minister for Planning and Institutional Excellence Ibrahim al-Adhan said the government had significantly shortened procedures for approving partnerships and investments over the past year, reducing a process that previously took years to a matter of months.That shift had helped facilitate a number of international agreements, including memoranda of understanding with U.S. companies for investment in Syria’s oil and gas sector and with Saudi companies for the rehabilitation and development of energy fields, he said.Al-Adhan said drinking water, sanitation and irrigation remain government-supported essential services and are not currently part of the investment drive, though authorities are studying options for introducing investment into the water sector in the future.

The talks were part of a broader series of meetings between Syrian officials and the U.S. economic delegation. The Finance Ministry, Central Bank of Syria andSyrian Investment Agencyalso held separate roundtables with the delegation on Monday.Two days of ministerial meetings organized by the International Cooperation and American Affairs departments at theForeign Ministryare also focusing on investment opportunities and prospects for broader economic partnerships between Syrian and U.S. businesses.