Egypt makes a move on Syria reconstruction, securing spots at two investment conferences

Egyptian companies are pursuing roles in Syria’s reconstruction, and the first test comes in a few weeks. Trade bodies and chamber sources tell EnterpriseAM they expect a strong Egyptian showing at the country’s two biggest business events of the year: the Damascus International Fair (DIF63), which opens its doors later this month, and the Syria Reconstruction Conference, taking place on 13-16 September.

There’s Egyptian interest in a wide cross-section of industries, with a focus on iron and steel and other infrastructure-related sectors, we are told. Textiles, woodworking, and other metallurgy companies also plan to attend, the Egyptian Federation of Industries tells us, while members of the Chamber of Food Industries and the Export Council are also planning to attend. Hassan Allam and Naguib Sawiris, two of the biggest names in Egypt’s private sector, were both in Damascus earlier this summer for high-level meetings, including with Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa.

Why it matters: Gulf investors have pushed first into the market, and Egypt has largely been late — the drive into Syria has so far been led by more risk-tolerant investors, mostly Syrian diaspora and politically backed capital from the Gulf, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia (both in the earlier stages) and an early push into banking by Qatar. A strong Egyptian turnout this September would signal a sea change after exactly one Egyptian company made it to Syria’s Reconstruction Conference last year; mostly Syrian firms attended, alongside a handful from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Oman, and Jordan. Egypt

Behind the shift: politics

The interest of Egypt’s private sector follows a warming at the government level. Egypt and Syria signed two memorandums of understanding in January, agreeing to cooperate on gas for power generation and on meeting Syria’s petroleum products’ needs. The two countries then exchanged visits by trade delegations — the first in 15 years — to discuss investment cooperation.

The diplomatic track has kept moving since. Ayman Al Ashry, a business leader and head of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce, was part of the delegation that visited Damascus earlier this year. He tells us that the political leadership in both countries is eager to rekindle trade and economic ties and that a joint trade chamber and business council is in the works. Cairo and Damascus are also reportedly weeks from restoring direct flights for the first time since 2011, though neither government has confirmed a final operational date.

That diplomatic warming with the new Syrian regime is what has turned the tide for the Egyptian private sector — the MoUs, the delegations, and the high-level visits have given Egyptian firms the signal that doing business with Damascus is now acceptable, and the conferences are the first venue to act on it.

The opportunity and the constraints

The opening for Egyptian players is real: Syria’s reconstruction bill runs to an estimated USD 216 bn, and the two fall conferences are built to court exactly the contractors and manufacturers Egypt is fielding. DIF63 organizers expect more than 1k participants from over 60 countries, and the Reconstruction Conference expects north of 500 across construction, industrial, and energy firms.

Egyptian chamber of commerce officials think a significant obstacle to Egyptian attendance last year is now being addressed. Egyptian companies need security approvals to attend — the same requirement that held back last year’s turnout, sources at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce tell us. Those approvals are being finalized, a source at the Federation tells us, “to ensure a distinguished Egyptian representation.” “There is a strong desire among Egyptian companies to participate in the upcoming Syrian events,” another adds. The final headcount of attendees from Egypt won’t be clear until those clearances come through.

The bigger constraint is the one facing every investor eyeing Syria: It remains really hard to get money into and out of Syria. We reported in April that an initial investment momentum had largely been stalled due to banking barriers and governance questions, which ultimately pushed most private-sector investors to the sidelines across Syria, Lebanon, Libya, and Gaza.

“No investor is questioning the market’s viability, underlying demand, or the need for solutions,” Abdul Hameed Arwani, partner at Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Shorooq, tells EnterpriseAM. “However, investors need clear regulations that stabilize the ecosystem, protect investments, and govern company formation. Concurrently, a developed financial sector is required to enable smooth capital movement and support startup growth.” Shorooq is focused on infrastructure investments across telecom, fintech, and real estate in Syria, Arwani says, though capital deployment is pending advanced evaluations. “If you visit Damascus today, reconstruction activity is visible across multiple sectors,” he adds.

The cycle of money is the single biggest obstacle for Egyptian players — in Syria and other reconstruction markets like Libya, two sources familiar with the matter tell EnterpriseAM. Investors are holding back not for lack of interest or ideas, but because “they need confidence that they can execute, operate, and if necessary, exit investment under predictable rules, which is not the case today,” says Benjamin Fève, a senior consultant at Karam Shaar Advisory.

Fève made a related case to EnterpriseAM before, when compliance was already the top concern flagged for would-be Syrian bank acquirers. The specific asks have sharpened since. “Investors still face difficulties in transferring funds, accessing reliable banking services, obtaining trade finance, securing insurance, repatriating profits, and resolving disputes through credible arbitration mechanisms, to cite a few issues,” Fève says. Clearer land ownership documentation and more predictable licensing procedures are still missing, he adds.

Closing that gap sits mainly with Syrian authorities, Fève argues. Transparent procurement, competitive tendering, independent oversight, and standardized investment rules for reconstruction projects are table stakes, but the highest priority should be “rebuilding confidence in the financial system, which means helping Syrian banks strengthen compliance, anti-money laundering and financial crimes frameworks, and governance more generally, in order to allow foreign correspondent banks to reconnect with the country,” he says.

IN CONTEXT- Sanctions on the Syrian regime have been lifted, SWIFT access has theoretically been restored, and Visa and Mastercard are back in play, though connectivity to the international banking system remains fraught. The US has moved to delist Syria as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, a potentially positive signal for business, though Syria remains on the FATF gray list and is due for another review in October. As Fève previously told us, delisting should ease correspondent banking, trade finance, and insurance compliance over time, but banks will keep asking about counterparty risk, sanctions exposure, Assad-era ownership, corruption, and judicial credibility before they remove guardrails.

What now

DIF63 and the Reconstruction Conference are the near-term test of whether Egypt’s push turns into an actual delegation or joins the list of overtures still finalizing paperwork. Syria’s FATF gray-list review in October is the milestone Fève and others flag as central to unlocking the correspondent banking access institutional investors are waiting on.

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