In a significant development for Syria’s economic landscape, the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria (CBS) has outlined a strategic pathway toward obtaining a sovereign credit rating. Through an official communication on his Facebook account, the governor emphasized that this initiative serves dual purposes: alleviating pressures from the ongoing sanctions regime and creating avenues for collaboration with international credit rating agencies.
The proposed approach involves Syria initially seeking a ‘shadow’ sovereign rating—an advisory evaluation that remains confidential. This preliminary step would lay the groundwork for transitioning to an official public assessment once economic and political conditions become more favorable.
Central Bank Governor Al-Hasriya provided crucial clarification regarding the nature and purpose of credit ratings. He emphasized that such ratings do not automatically translate into immediate access to international loans or financing. Instead, they function as comprehensive diagnostic tools that offer objective assessments of a nation’s economic and financial health. These evaluations are designed to strengthen fiscal discipline, prioritize necessary reforms, enhance institutional transparency, and facilitate more effective engagement with global investors and international financial organizations.
The governor further detailed the Central Bank’s pivotal role in this process, highlighting commitments to enhanced monetary transparency, the provision of reliable economic data, and the promotion of financial stability. These elements, he noted, constitute fundamental prerequisites for establishing a credible sovereign rating that would be recognized by the international financial community.
Acknowledging the challenging road ahead, the governor recognized that Syria would likely receive a low initial rating—a common circumstance for nations emerging from prolonged conflict situations. However, he stressed that the true value of pursuing a credit rating lies not in the numerical score itself, but in the established standards it provides and the clear roadmap it creates for systematic economic improvement and recovery.