Who Will Rebuild Syria After the War?
TEHRAN (Basirat)- Not a single country is capable of restoring Syria, a country devastated by a nearly six-year-long war, on its own, Abdullah al-Dardari, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia and former Deputy Prime Minister of Syria, told Gazeta.ru, adding that it should be a multilateral effort.
Russian President Vladimir Putin "is correct in saying that
reconstruction and financing of the Middle East should be a priority for
the international community. Moreover, we need shared responsibility
since not a single country, including the United States, the European
Union, Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, is capable of restoring the region
on its own. They will not be able to rebuild even Syria, which is
estimated to have sustained damage amounting to $350 billion," he said.
Dardari also said that no one has a clear understanding of the scale of the damage in Syria. As a result, the international community is in the dark about the key challenges on the path to rebuilding the Arab nation.
In late October, Putin suggested that the international community
should work out a long-term comprehensive program to restore Middle
Eastern nations shattered by domestic and foreign-led conflicts. He
compared it to the Marshall Plan, an economic assistance initiative
which was meant to rebuild Europe following World War II, due to the
"mammoth scale of destruction" in the Middle East.
The UN official also explained why economic considerations should be taken into account during the peace process and not afterwards.
"Setting the Syrian economy back on track with the support of
Russia and the US is not a zero-sum game. These are not mutually
exclusive processes. I think that there are enough resources and space
in Syria to satisfy economic interests of the US, Russia, regional
stakeholders and most importantly the Syrian people."
The UN official also explained why economic considerations should be taken into account during the peace process and not afterwards.
"Parties to the conflict must understand that a military or a
political victory in the Syrian conflict will not be enough. If there is
a single winner in Syria, he will have to pay for all. He will bear the
burden of economic responsibility for [the country's revival]," he
noted. "This is why it has to be a comprehensive process which will
unite all of the stakeholders."
Dardari further said that both Russia and the United States could benefit from taking part in this process.
Dardari further said that both Russia and the United States could benefit from taking part in this process.
Dardari also said that no one has a clear understanding of the scale of the damage in Syria. As a result, the international community is in the dark about the key challenges on the path to rebuilding the Arab nation.
