Grappling with up to 20 hours of daily blackouts, Syrians may now see new hope with a $7 billion agreement signed by companies from Turkey, Qatar, and the United States to address the country’s electricity crisis.
If implemented successfully, [a new] agreement could restore Syria’s electricity production to pre-civil war levels within two years.
Under the deal, a consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Concession Investments will add 1,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power and 4,000 MW of combined-cycle thermal generation to Syria’s grid within the next two years, effectively doubling Syria’s electricity output. Equipment for the project will come from the United States and Europe. U.S. Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack, who also serves as ambassador to Turkey, was present at the signing ceremony held at the Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus.
Qatar began supplying gas to Syria via Jordan in March 2025, and Turkey has pledged to deliver two billion cubic meters of natural gas annually—enough to fuel the generation of 1,300 MW of electricity.
If implemented successfully, the agreement could restore Syria’s electricity production to pre-civil war levels within two years.
Syria’s modest oil and gas reserves—2.5 billion barrels of oil and 250 billion cubic meters of gas—give it a pathway to energy self-sufficiency with the support of regional and Western companies.
During his May 14, 2025, trip to Riyadh, President Donald Trump held a surprise meeting with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in which Trump announced that he would lift U.S. sanctions against Syria. Following the power plants deal, the U.S. State Department tweeted Trump’s statement, affirming the opening of a new chapter in Damascus-Washington relations.
The broad participation of Arab countries from Jordan to the United Arab Emirates in Syria’s economic recovery suggests a regional push to prevent the country from falling back into Iran’s orbit, even as competition between Arab states and Turkey for influence in post-war Syria remains evident. The Syria-Iran alliance forged by Syrian President Hafez al-Assad after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran enabled Iranian proxies to penetrate the region, but it did little for the Iranian people. While Iran delivered 300 million barrels of crude oil to Assad’s regime between 2012 and the regime’s December 2024 fall—perhaps $23 billion in total—the Islamic Republic, and for that matter, Russia, never committed to any substantial economic projects in Syria beyond a few temporary auto assembly units. In fact, bilateral trade between Iran and Syria was below $150 million annually by the final years of Assad’s rule while Turkey, despite its enmity to the Assad regime, maintained trade volumes 20 times higher.
The Syrian interim government recognized early on that promised Western and Arab investment could be a potential windfall for Al-Sharaa.
Prior to 2010, total foreign investment in Syria was less than $10 billion, most of which came from Europe and neighboring Arab countries. In March 2025, the European Union and its partners pledged $6.3 billion for Syria and its neighbors. The Syrian interim government recognized early on that promised Western and Arab investment could be a potential windfall for Al-Sharaa. Indeed, according to the United Nations, the lifting of sanctions could affect more than $15 billion in frozen assets and trade restrictions, potentially unlocking major investments in key sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, housing, and livelihoods—especially in areas devastated by years of conflict, economic stagnation, and displacement.
However, the aid now offered does not offset the damage caused by 55 years of the Assad family’s rule and more than a decade of civil war. Experts estimate that Syria will require between $250 billion and $400 billion for full reconstruction.
Currently, more than 13 million people, about 60 percent of Syria’s population, are displaced, half of whom have taken refuge abroad. Ninety percent of the population lives in extreme poverty. Syria’s reconstruction is not just a humanitarian imperative; it also represents an opportunity to return over six million refugees to their homeland.
It is against this backdrop that Al-Sharaa now hints at the potential of normalization with Israel. The West should not underestimate the more pragmatic and peaceful direction being taken by the forces now shaping Syria’s future. Still, recent gains can quickly evaporate if rivals sense an opportunity to further their own influence.
