Some have greatness imposed on them. Syria and its supporters around the world hope that interim Finance Minister Riad Abd El Raouf will join these ranks in the coming months.
Raouf, 49, stands alone as the only candidate appointed by Bashar al-Assad to retain a top government post after the dictator’s shocking ouster by Islamist rebels. Holding a doctorate in accounting and auditing from Paul Verlaine University, trilingual in Arabic, French and English, Raouf returned home to teach at the University of Damascus. He chaired the board of directors of the Commercial Bank of Syria for a few years and wrote scholarly articles on corporate governance before President Bashar Hafez al-Assad appointed him to the ministry in a final government reshuffle in September.
After Assad fled on December 8, Raouf scored two quick successes: reopening a vital border crossing that neighboring Jordan had closed during the fighting and easing the panic selling of the Syrian pound. The pound sterling returned to its previous value of 13,000 to the dollar.
The long-term challenges Raouf will face are more than daunting. According to the World Bank, Syria’s economy has shrunk by 85% since the start of the civil war in 2011. Foreign exchange reserves could be as low as $200 million. The debt to Iran, Assad’s main foreign sponsor, amounts to $30 billion to $50 billion according to various estimates.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, now in power, is still designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the UN. Widespread sanctions will hamper any Syrian revival until the situation changes. Syria is the third most sanctioned country in the world after Russia and Iran, according to data provider Castellum.AI. The Syrian government last met with the International Monetary Fund in 2009.
The outside world has plenty of reasons to help, however. Turkey and Europe want to send home some of their estimated 4.5 million Syrian refugees. The United States and the Arab Gulf states want to cement a strategic debacle for Iran and Russia. The IMF “stands ready to support the efforts of the international community to help rebuild Syria if necessary and when conditions permit,” a spokeswoman said. If Raouf could bring this moment closer, that would indeed be great.