RIYADH: Syria has appointed Safwat Raslan, head of the Syrian Development Fund, as central bank governor while former Governor Abdelkader Husriyeh was named ambassador to Canada, state media reported on Friday.
Reuters reported earlier on Friday, citing two people in Syrian banking sector, that Raslan was expected to be appointed central bank governor.
Raslan, a former banker who fled Syria to Germany as a refugee during the country’s civil war and obtained citizenship there, did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Husriyeh also did not respond to a request for comment. State media cited the foreign ministry in reporting his appointment.
Syria’s banking sector has been seeking to reconnect with global finance after the fall of former President Bashar Assad, whose crackdown on protests in 2011 triggered a 14-year civil war and sweeping Western sanctions that isolated Syrian banks and the central bank.
Most of those sanctions have since been lifted, but the country’s banks remain relatively isolated from the global financial system, hampering efforts to attract funds to boost the economy and support post-war reconstruction.
Husriyeh was appointed central bank governor by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa in April 2025. During his tenure, Syria carried out its first international bank transfer via the SWIFT system since the start of the war.
Raslan was appointed director-general of the Syrian Development Fund in 2025. The fund, launched after Assad’s ouster, was set up as a state-backed vehicle to mobilize money for reconstruction and development projects.
Syria appoints Safwat Raslan as central bank governor, Husriyeh named envoy
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Syria appoints Safwat Raslan as central bank governor, Husriyeh named envoy
- Raslan, an ex-refugee and banker, leads the Syrian Development Fund
- Former Governor Abdelkader Husriyeh is named ambassador to Canada
