Syria’s Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh said that Qatar would assist the new government to pay public sector salaries for the coming months, according to Arab News.
“We thank the Qatari government for the generous grant provided to pay part of the current wages and salary bill,” Barnieh said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.
The minister also noted that the process of paying wages had been exempted from US sanctions. In this regard, he expressed his sincere gratitude to the US Treasury “for the quick response to facilitate the grant”.
Through a total of $29 million a month for three months, the extendable arrangement will cover “wages in the health, education and social affairs sectors and non-military” pensions, according to Barnieh.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, the new government has been pushing for the lifting of international sanctions.
UK Lifts Sanctions on Syria
The British government has recently lifted sanctions on Syria’s interior and defense ministries marking the latest easing of sanctions following Assad’s fall from power.
Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate, Air Force Intelligence Agency and National Security Bureau were also emitted from the list of entities subject to financial sanctions by the U.K, according to Reuters.
Such sanctions were primarily due to the repression of civilian population or “supporting or benefiting from the Syrian regime.”
In this regard, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa stated that lifting sanctions would prevent another civil war in Syria.
“Any chaos in Syria will damage not just neighboring countries but the whole world,” Al-Sharaa said.
Currently, the new Syrian government seeks to restore relations with Western and Arab countries and build new diplomatic relations to boost its stability and security.
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