UAE sees rapidly growing trade with Syria, as ties warm

By Feras Dalatey

DUBAI, May 12 (Reuters) - Trade ‌between the United ​Arab Emirates ​and Syria more than doubled in 2025 and has further to grow, a UAE minister said on Tuesday, addressing a Damascus investment forum that signalled rapidly warming ties ‌between the states.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi told the ⁠first Syrian-Emirati Investment Forum that non-oil trade between the United Arab Emirates and Syria reached a record $1.4 billion in 2025, ‌up 132% from the previous year. ‌He said the increase opens prospects for expanding bilateral trade.

The Syrian and Emirati sides reached a series of preliminary agreements on dozens of investment projects in the tourism, construction, infrastructure, agriculture, aviation ​and logistics sectors during the two-day event.

The UAE, a strong opponent of Islamist movements across the Middle East, has moved more slowly than Saudi Arabia and Qatar in expanding ties with the new ⁠Syrian government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander.

But a gradual improvement in ties has accelerated since the start of the ​Iran war, as the UAE came under Iranian attack and Sharaa repeatedly expressed solidarity with Abu Dhabi.

Anwar Gargash, top diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said in ​April Syria was among the most prominent Arab countries ‌that "held a positive stance towards the UAE".

The investment forum was held at the Presidential Palace in Damascus and attended by Sharaa, ministers and senior officials from ⁠both countries.

Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emirati real estate development giant Emaar, said the company was studying projects in Damascus worth up to $12 billion, and projects on Syria's coast worth up to $7 billion.

Syrian Economy and Industry Minister Nidal Shaar ⁠said the two sides had agreed to form a Syrian technical delegation to visit the UAE in the coming period ​to develop a comprehensive plan and implementation roadmap for the recent agreements.

Etihad Airways, the UAE's national carrier, on Monday announced the resumption of flights between Abu Dhabi and Damascus in mid-June, after suspending operations in 2012 following the ‌outbreak of the Syrian conflict.

Syria has been seeking to attract foreign investment to support an economy devastated by more than a decade of war and ‌Western sanctions, most of which were lifted at the end of last year.

Over the past year, Damascus has signed ⁠several billion-dollar memoranda of understanding with Gulf ‌investors, including companies from Saudi ​Arabia and Qatar, while also securing deals with U.S. companies, like the oil and gas deep-water exploration deal with Chevron.

(Reporting by Feras Dalatey in Dubai; Editing by Tom ‌Perry/Keith Weir)

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