The conference that had been organized by the League of Arab States, the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, the General Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries and The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation aimed  at briefing Arab businessmen and investors on the positive developments in the national economy and the work environment in Syria, in addition to the current and the possible economic and investment opportunities in the Syrian economic sectors.

Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri said that Syria has been working continuously to establish the Arab free trade zone in preparation for establishing a joint Arab market, which will secure mutual economic interests and preserve Arab social and economic earnings, leading to bolstering Arab countries' economies and developing partnerships and joint investments among them. He called on Arab businessmen and investors to expand their investments in Syria and establish partnership within the framework of an Arab vision based on strategic investment of energies and resources to create an Arab economic conglomerate.

For his part, Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League for Economic Affairs Mohammed Ibrahim al-Tuwaijri called for focusing on the economic sector as a basis for development and progress starting from an Arab economic integration to reach a joint Arab market, pointing out that the Arab League’s Committee completed 76 percent of the Act of the Arab Customs Union and Tariffs to achieve for the Arab Customs Union in 2015.

For his part, President of Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Sheikh Saleh Kamel called for the continuation of exerting more efforts for the sake of the advancement of the Syrian economy in its different fields, avoiding bureaucracy, and overcoming the obstacle that hinder tourism industry in Syria. He added that the investment law in Syria is one of the best legislations on the Arab level, but the problems are in the obstacles that face the implementation of it, adding "that requires providing the investors with the necessary facilities, following up on the economic developments and establishing companies that look for and promote investment opportunities in Syria.

Kamel called for replacing the Venture Capital Firms established by foreign countries with Arab capital companies, outlining that the ICCI is searching for the investment opportunities in the Islamic States and now is having projects funded with over $ 2 billion funding during one year and a half. 

He expressed the Islamic Chamber's desire to establish "Syria Foras" company with $20 million capital, in cooperation between Arab investors and businessmen by 50% and the Syrian businessmen by 50%, with the aim of searching for the investment opportunities and troubled projects to re-launch them.  

Sheikh Saleh Kamel stressed the importance of launching initiatives and ideas during the conference to as to activate the flow of investments to Syria.   Otri commented saying “the government will keep into its consideration all notices taken at the conference to avoid them”
Chairman of Damascus Chamber of Commerce Ghassan al-Qalaa said Syria became a destination for the Arab and foreign investments in all economic sectors due to the development of the legislation of investment over the past years and the improvement of infrastructure as well as services . 

Head of the General Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture Adnan al-Qassar talked about the economic reforms achieved in Syria over the past years which helped face the global financial crisis and laid the foundation for a suitable investment atmosphere.

He underlined the role of the Syrian economy in consolidating economic partnerships and attracting investments regionally and internationally.

Al-Qassar highlighted the importance of increasing Arab investments through improving business environment and broadening the basis of infrastructure projects to reach USD 100 billions in addition to focusing on the joint Arab market and activating the key role of the private Arab sector.
Regional Director of the World Bank in the Middle East and North Africa Hadi Arabi said that studies of the World Bank expect improving the performance of the Syrian economy better than the regional average for the year 2010 with the possibility of achieving higher rates over the medium term.

For his part, Hassan Heikal, Chief Executive Officer of EFG-Hermes pointed out the vast investment opportunities in Syria provided by the movement to the social economic market and the dynamics private sector.

                                                                           Source: SANA