Syria regains eligibility for loans after arrears cleared, says World Bank

Syria’s eligibility for World Bank funding has been reinstated after Saudi Arabia and Qatar paid off the country’s $15.5 million debt to the institution, the bank announced Friday, Anadolu reports.

The arrears, owed to the International Development Association (IDA) — the World Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries — were cleared as of May 12, reinstating Syria’s eligibility for new operations, the bank said in a statement.

“As of May 12, 2025, there are no remaining outstanding balances on IDA credits to the Syrian Arab Republic,” it said, noting that any future engagement with the country is “subject to compliance with applicable World Bank operational policies.”

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The move followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday at the 2025 Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh that he would order the removal of “brutal and crippling” US sanctions on Syria that was imposed before the fall of the Assad regime.

On the day after the announcement, Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia – the first meeting between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.

Bashar Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, 2024, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January.

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