Damascus: Syrian Minister of Finance Mohammad Yasser Barniyah affirmed that the two recent steps taken by the US administration toward Syria are significant and will have positive effects on the country's financial, banking, and industrial sectors.

According to Qatar News Agency, the minister explained in a statement posted on his Facebook page and broadcast by the Syrian News Agency that the first step involves the US Treasury Department's cancellation of decisions and sanctions imposed by former American presidents since 2004, following the declaration of a state of emergency on Syria. This move is in implementation of a previous decision by former President Donald Trump, who lifted the state of emergency on Syria.

The second step, as noted by Barniyah, is the US Department of Commerce's lifting of restrictions on American exports or re-exports to Syria of products, services, and technologies (excluding military items), along with efforts to expedite and simplify the licensing process. Barniyah emphasized that access to American technology is highly impactful, as it plays a role in most industries and software systems.

These measures are expected to bring broad positive effects to Syria's industrial and financial sectors. Barniyah also highlighted the ongoing communication between the Syrian Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Syria, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, and the US Treasury Department. He mentioned that they sense a keenness to support the reforms Syria is undertaking in the financial and banking sectors, and in public finance.

On June 30, former U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the sanctions program imposed on Syria, thereby terminating the national emergency declared by Washington in 2004 and renewed annually since then. This program had led to comprehensive sanctions affecting vital institutions, most notably the Central Bank of Syria. Five other executive orders forming the basis of the sanctions program were also canceled.

On Thursday, the Bureau of Industry and Security at the US Department of Commerce announced a new regulatory rule easing licensing requirements for civilian exports to Syria.