To the First Investment Conference in Northern Syria.. Let it be an open Liberal Capitalism!
The Syrian National Coalition Opposition is holding the first investment conference in Northern Syria, at the Industrial City in Al-Rai, Northern Syria, from January 17 to 18, 2024. An official invitation has been extended to the Syrian Future Movement, represented by its President, Dr. Zaher Baadarani, to attend the conference despite his absence from official opposition institutions, in a positive move towards openness to all Syrian opposition entities.
Successful investment requires many factors and conditions to be met, both at the individual and state levels. From the individual’s perspective, important factors for making their investments successful include:
- Understanding market trends, economic and political changes, which helps investors make informed and enlightened investment decisions.
- Diversification in multiple investments, which is crucial for risk reduction.
- Investing in what is known and understood, as advised by successful investors like Chris Rawley, founder and CEO at Harvest Returns, who said, “Don’t invest in a product you don’t understand and be sure to clearly identify the risks before investing.”
If these are some of the success factors used by individuals, then the investment success factors that fall on the state, government, or ruling authority must be mentioned.
Here, we find ourselves needing to clarify the obvious, where laying down investment-friendly and encouraging laws is the task of the ruling authority, in addition to ensuring their enforcement, along with other factors, including:
1- Encouraging successful investment by providing a stable and favorable investment environment, without burdening the investor with taxes and the like.
2- Ensuring intellectual property rights, and encouraging and supporting innovation.
3- Offering support to investors, through simplifying procedures, providing legal protection for investors, improving infrastructure, and enhancing transparency and good governance.
4- Consolidating security and ensuring its sustainability.
Thus, we are facing a complementary participatory case between investors on one hand, and the authority (any authority) to do what is required for successful investment. Since Syrians have proven their expertise in the labor market and investment sector, as clearly evident from the state of successful Syrian expatriates globally, the matter remains dependent on the auxiliary counterpart to achieve any progress or success, namely the authority.
Here, an important question arises: Can the Syrian opposition actually perform its duties (as an authority) under our complex political reality?
Turkey is still at war with the areas of the Autonomous Administration, which makes the areas of the Syrian opposition vulnerable to military attacks, by both the Syrian regime and the SDF.
In addition to the state of fragmentation among the factions of the National Army, and the presence of dozens of checkpoints that cut through the liberated areas, each faction has a checkpoint, and each checkpoint has its controller, and collects tolls and tariffs that bring in significant revenue! And with the lack of a transparent legal communication mechanism among these factions, or the presence of a leadership that unites them, the matter becomes akin to traveling between multiple countries, each with its own law (governed by whims and interests). Has the Syrian opposition researched these obstacles in depth?!
Although there are no examples of countries under the yoke of war achieving investment and economic success, except perhaps the United States, which managed to solve the Great Depression problem during World War II, making the war a factor accelerating technological progress, and increasing production that led to economic recovery.
We don’t want to be entirely pessimistic here, but the chance of successful investment in the liberated areas under the current conditions is very slim. However, with an abstract view, we can search for possible, albeit difficult, carriers to make investment work successful and improve the Syrian economy in the north:
1- Obtaining international sponsorship initiated by Turkey, and then the European Union, to convince the international community of the necessity to protect Northern Syria and prevent its targeting by the Russians and Iranians, or the Syrian regime and SDF.
2- Leveraging the refugee issue by making Northern Syria a safe and economically prosperous area, thereby discouraging Syrians from emigrating and crossing borders. This is beneficial for both Turkey and Europe, potentially making Northern Syria an attractive region for Syrians wishing to return legally to their country, or for those whom Turkey or even Europe wishes to deport from their territories. Instead of Europe’s failure to persuade the Italians to take money for settling refugees, this sponsorship and support for the region could be sought under UN patronage and European support.
3- After this stage, moving to the phase of attracting global banking power, through banking policies that comply with international standards, ensuring absolute transparency and total confidentiality for clients. Banks are the economic lever for any country by injecting money, creating investment, and eradicating unemployment.
4- Eliminating all manifestations of checkpoints in Northern Syria, and working on raising security readiness through security missions from friendly countries, relying on the successful and unique example of Erbil with its use of surveillance cameras and rapid, secret intervention.
5- Explicitly adopting a policy of Liberal Capitalism, ensuring the safety of capital, in addition to the freedom for individuals to undertake any project, as long as it complies with the laws imposed by the United Nations regarding safety, environment, and others.
6- Mandating that the workforce for the next ten years consist exclusively of Syrians, with a determined minimum wage and well-considered workers’ rights, including health insurance.
7- Avoiding the politicization and manipulation of investments, and allowing the free market to direct and determine investments.
8- Introducing international insurance companies to Northern Syria, facilitating access for investing companies to them, and working on removing obstacles in attracting insurance companies, considering them a major factor in attracting cautious investment.
This raises the most important question anew in our study about the ability and mechanisms of the Syrian opposition to fulfill its duties to make investments successful! We, in the Syrian Future Movement, genuinely wish for the conference’s success and hope it is not just a media distraction devoid of substance and content!
Dr. Zaher Baadarani
President of the Syrian Future Movement (SFM)
