São Paulo – The government of Syria is granting a one-time financial stimulus to public sector workers and soldiers, local websites reported. President Bashar Al Assad issued a decree this Tuesday (16) amid a serious economic crisis.
The stimulus equivalent to an average monthly salary will be granted to thousands of workers. According to the website of newspaper Arab News, this is the third such stimulus granted since October 2020.
Public sector workers will get SYP 50,000 each. Pensioners will get SYP 40,000. Syria’s currency is crashing. The official exchange rate is SYP 1,256 for USD 1, and the Syrian pound is worth even less on the black market.
The country is struggling as the economy deteriorates. Fuel and cooking gas prices up, as is inflation. Just like virtually everywhere else, the pandemic further compounded existing problems, as Syria tried to rebuild its infrastructure and resume economic activity.
Syria’s state-run news agency reported a string of measures underway, including trade talks with other countries, the resumption of activity at industrial zones affected by the fighting, the hosting of a footwear show and a textiles and apparel show, the participation of local business owners in Gulfood, etc.
Pictured at the top of this page are railroad workers in Syria, 2018.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum