TRADE between the UAE and Syria more than doubled in 2025 and has further to grow, a UAE minister said yesterday, 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 UAE and Syria reached a record $1.4 billion in 2025, up 132 per cent 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.
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 $12bn, and projects on Syria’s coast worth up to $7bn.