Syria nets $28 billion in investments this year: President al-Sharaa

Syria has attracted overseas investment totalling around $28 billion so far this year, President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh.

Sharaa said in a session attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Syrian laws have been amended to allow foreign investors to transfer funds out of the country.

"We want to rebuild Syria via investments," Sharaa said, adding the world can benefit from it as a "trade corridor".

An address by Sharaa to global finance, banking and energy leaders would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Before toppling Bashar al-Assad in 2024, Sharaa was at one point al Qaeda's commander in Syria during its civil war.

Sharaa has conducted a series of foreign trips as his transitional government seeks to re-establish Syria's ties with world powers that shunned Damascus during Assad's rule.

In May, Riyadh hosted a historic meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Sharaa and U.S. President Donald Trump, who praised Sharaa and said Washington would lift all sanctions on Syria to help give the country a chance to rebuild.

Despite Trump's pledge and widespread exemptions now granted to Syria, the toughest sanctions - known as the Caesar sanctions - require a repeal from the U.S. Congress.

U.S. lawmakers have been divided on the issue, but are expected to make a decision by the end of the year.

While Syria has already drawn international interest in major development projects, a full repeal is expected to trigger increased appetite for investments.

In August, Syria signed 12 investment deals worth $14 billion, including infrastructure, transportation and real estate projects aimed at reviving the war-damaged economy.

A World Bank report predicted the cost of Syria's reconstruction at $216 billion, saying the figure was a "conservative best estimate".