After more than ten years of crisis and war on Syria, which destroyed a lot of infrastructure, factories, roads, agricultural lands, cities, residential buildings, etc. And securing the requirements for the reconstruction of what was destroyed by the war.
This was confirmed by Minister of Industry Ziad Sabbagh, in a statement to “Tishreen,” noting that the Fourth Arab Conference of the Arab Federation of Arab Cities and Industrial Zones was held in partnership with the Arab Federation for Chemical and Petrochemical Industries and the Arab Union for Measurement and Calibration under the slogan: “Investment in Arab cities and industrial zones and its role in making a leap.” Quality”, in the Arab Industry Strategy in Damascus on Monday, November 29, 2021, is a victory for Syria in its war on terrorism, pointing out that holding the conference in Damascus achieves a number of goals by providing what the union can help and support to encourage investment in the industrial cities in the Syrian Arab Republic and to shed light on the The unique and successful experience in the region and the achievement of possible assistance in Arab economic integration, which is considered the most important goal of establishing the union.
The Minister of Industry explained that work and thinking about the establishment of Syrian industrial cities began at the end of the last century, and the establishment of industrial cities in a number of governorates began after a special law was issued to create Syrian industrial cities by a legislative decree issued by the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, where four industrial cities were established in central areas The first is east of the capital, Damascus, in the Adra region, the second is in Hassia, in the governorate of Homs in the middle of Syria, and the third is near the most important economic and industrial capital in northern Syria, in the Sheikh Najjar area, near the fourth Aleppo governorate, east of Syria, near the oil sources, near the most important areas, agricultural lands, and the Syrian food yield in Deir Ezzor Governorate. After that, several decrees and legislations were issued with the aim of granting additional advantages and providing more facilities and incentives to investors due to the great demand for investment in these cities.Investment laws in industrial cities in the Arab world, given the rapid development in regulations, laws, services and facilities provided to investors.
The minister added: This conference represents a new start towards activating the components of our national economy, as it is a recognition of Syria's ability to overcome adversity and achieve victories and its central role in the integration of Arab and international economies.
The Union organizes a set of activities that will contribute to achieving the Union’s strategic objectives, which ultimately aim to serve work in Arab cities and industrial areas and help achieve Arab economic integration, including the Fourth Arab Conference, which is an important opportunity for consultation and exchange of experiences between decision-makers and expertise in The Arab cities and industrial zones sector, which includes investors, laboratories, companies, institutions and service companies, in addition to financing, insurance, and expenses companies, and other Arab and foreign countries, by achieving a meeting between specialized individuals, companies, and Arab expertise.
The conference is also a means of presenting the latest developments in the field of economic cooperation between Arab countries, emphasizing the fundamental and effective role played by strengthening economic and cultural relations, and working to develop studies and proposals that aim to achieve the optimal implementation of cooperation in line with the established goals and plans.
This sector is considered one of the most important sectors that attract investments in Arab and international capital, and it reaches nearly 60% of the total investments in some Arab countries, with a large total percentage that almost matches the investment in the oil and gas extraction sector in some countries of the Arab world, which imposed the importance of following up the development of systems And the laws governing this strategic sector, given that it corresponds to the availability of a set of basic components that include the availability of raw material - infrastructure - human competencies - finance and insurance companies and others.
Accordingly, this sector has become one of the main pillars of the Arab and global economy and has begun to rely on it as a basic indicator to be taken into account to classify countries, their rate of growth and economic development, and their commitment to global trends towards an economy that serves sustainable development, through a note that it gives to support cities and industrial cities.
In light of the economic transformations that the Arab world is witnessing, focusing on this sector has become a basic necessity due to the branching of this sector and its outputs and its main role in providing job opportunities and increasing the national income of countries, especially since recent studies have proven that the future of cities and industrial areas in Arab countries will be prosperous compared to In foreign countries, given the presence of large areas and the many investment incentives in the Arab countries and the proximity of the Arab countries to the Western, Asian and African markets, which are one of the main consumers of the products of these investments. The great expansion and spread of these cities and industrial areas in various Arab countries.
Yousra Al Masry
