The Syrian Future Movement expresses its support for the step taken to reintegrate Syria into the Global Telecommunications Association (GSMA) on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, after a hiatus of more than a decade. We consider this a moment of profound political and institutional significance that deserves to be addressed with awareness and national responsibility.
In terms of form, this return is a positive development that reconnects Syria to the global technological space and mitigates the structural isolation suffered by state institutions and capabilities during the war years.
In essence, this moment raises strategic challenges and questions related to the pattern of reintegration, its conditions, and its place within the comprehensive national reform project, which cannot be reduced to technical indicators or symbolic conferences.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that rejoining the international telecommunications system should not be a formal or protocolary step, but rather a foundational opportunity to rebuild the telecommunications sector in Syria according to standards of governance, transparency, and the protection of citizens’ digital rights.
We caution against reducing this return to a mere facade of institutional openness without a thorough review of the legal and regulatory framework governing this sector. The Syrian Future Movement considers digital sovereignty, the protection of citizens’ data, and ensuring the sector’s neutrality from security or political exploitation to be a priority no less important than reactivating connectivity networks or attending international conferences.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes that sound institutional building for the telecommunications sector is a pillar of national development. This allows for an attractive environment for investment, enhances the efficiency of public administration, and restores citizens’ confidence in the state and its ability to provide professional and fair public services.
Accordingly, the Syrian Future Movement calls for the following:
- Conduct a comprehensive legal and regulatory review of the Syrian telecommunications system to ensure its alignment with international human rights and privacy protection standards.
- Formulation of an independent national body to oversee the telecommunications sector, free from any partisan or security exploitation, to formulate policies and ensure institutional neutrality.
- Integration of Syrian talent abroad into the process of building the technical and institutional capacities of this sector, through partnerships with academic institutions and specialized research centers.
- Linking the steps to restore technological openness to a broader reform plan that includes transparency, combating corruption, and ensuring community participation in formulating digital policies.
- Opening a national dialogue on the concept of “digital sovereignty” and individual rights in the digital space, as a basis for formulating a new social contract that transcends surveillance and is based on empowerment and digital citizenship.
The Syrian Future Movement reaffirms that any institutional openness only gains value if it is accompanied by fundamental reforms that place citizens at the heart of public policy and make technology a tool for human liberation, not a means of restricting or subjugating them.
