DATE=12/10/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=SYRIA - ECONOMY, PART 3 OF 3
NUMBER=5-44953
BYLINE=DALE GAVLAK
DATELINE=DAMASCUS
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
///Eds: This is the final in a 3 part series on
Syria///
INTRO: While Damascus may boast about being the
world's oldest continuously inhabited city, it's just
now reaching the technological age. While much of the
rest of the world is actively engaged in e-commerce,
Syria has only just authorized its first Internet and
mobile phone services on a limited basis. Economists
say Syria also has a long way to go with needed
economic reforms as it enters the third millennium.
Dale Gavlak reports from Damascus.
TEXT: Samir Haddad owns a textile shop in the old
marketplace of Damascus. In the past, he only could
use his computer to keep track of stock inventory.
Now, it's become a more powerful tool for creating new
opportunities. He can access the Internet and e-mail
to expand his commercial contacts and increase sales
possibilities. Mr. Haddad says Syria's business
community is welcoming this new addition to the
country's economic landscape. It's a sign that Syria
is breaking out of its isolation and further opening
up to the outside world.
//HADDAD ACT//
Already people in business are trying to develop web
pages for local businesses in Syria. Syrians are
people who are traders by nature and they will take
any opportunity to make business.
//END HADDAD ACT//
Internet access is still limited to companies,
embassies and the Syrian government. But private
individuals are expected to be allowed their own e-
mail accounts by the end of next year. Syrians say
they are open to technological changes that come with
being in an information society. But they also say
they want to preserve their traditions and uphold
morality. As a result, the government says it will
block access to sex material and some political sites
on the Internet.
The Internet has been slow to arrive in Syria. The
government still acts as a guardian on information and
financial matters affecting the country. It says it
wants to lay down guidelines on how e-commerce is
conducted. The ministries of finance and justice are
currently reviewing legislation that will affect e-
trade. Syrian Finance Minister Mohamed al-Emadi
explains.
//EMADI ACT//
We want to put guarantees for the buyers and sellers
because you hear what's going on with e-trade, if you
don't hear about it, you are lucky. We want to find
ways and means to make it really safe.
//END EMADI ACT//
As for cellular phones, it's unlikely that there will
be huge numbers of mobile-toting Syrians any time
soon. An initial, steep 12 hundred dollar subscription
fee on top of a 40 dollar monthly service charge will
make cellular phones affordable only for the few. The
average Syrian government employee, for example, has a
monthly salary of about one hundred dollars. Private
entrepreneurs might earn up to five times that amount.
So for many Syrians, mobile phones will remain
virtually unaffordable luxuries.
Even more basic economic reforms are needed in Syria
to move the country forward into the competitive
future. Economists, like Nabil Sukkar, note that
Syria does not even have a stock exchange and it must
create one to increase investment in the country.
Banks need to be modernized to handle private and
public sector transactions. Taxes on local goods,
says Mr. Sukkar, should be reduced to turn around the
stagnant economy and slow growth rate.
//SUKKAR ACT//
We need economic reform regardless of whether there
are peace negotiations or not and whether the peace
negotiations are resumed or not. We need economic
reform because we need it for our own economy in order
to revitalize the economy and accelerate economic
growth.
//END SUKKAR ACT//
Mr. Sukkar says the lack of a peace process may have
hindered an earlier push for financial reforms.
Other economists say Syria's aging leadership and the
succession issue may have delayed needed changes from
happening sooner. The economists add that the lack of
peace with Israel, the neighboring Middle East
economic powerhouse, has siphoned funds into Syrian
defense spending rather than into much needed economic
development over the past 30 years. (Signed)
NEB/DG/GE/PLM
10-Dec-1999 05:10 AM EDT (10-Dec-1999 1010 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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