Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa opened the 62nd Damascus International Fair on August 27, 2025, presenting the event as both a commercial showcase and a political statement about Syria’s attempt to reconnect with regional and international markets after the fall of the Assad regime.
Held under the slogan “Syria Welcomes the World,” the fair took place at the new exhibition grounds in the Damascus countryside. In remarks carried by the state news agency SANA, al-Sharaa framed the fair as a revival of Syria’s older identity as a center of trade, industry and services linking East and West. He said the Levant had long been known for metals, textiles, food and tourism and argued that commerce, agriculture and industry were not temporary occupations in Syria but part of the country’s social culture and historical ambition.
Al-Sharaa used the platform to make a wider case for the new government’s economic direction. He said security stabilization and economic development had been set as priorities since what he called liberation, and he listed steps including plans to raise agricultural and industrial production, improve services, double wages and salaries, amend the investment law and pursue reforms in the judiciary, education, monetary policy and banking. The speech clearly sought to present a coherent narrative of state rebuilding, even though the extract did not offer independent verification of those outcomes.
Other speakers at the opening reinforced the fair’s role as a diplomatic signal. Mohammad Hamza, head of the General Organization for Exhibitions and International Markets, described the edition as the first since the fall of the former regime and called it a new chapter in Syria’s relationship with the world. He said the country had passed through a period of repression, corruption and economic decay that repelled investors and creative talent, contrasting that era with the fair’s message of reopening.
The event also highlighted external interest from Arab and neighboring states. Saudi businessman Issam al-Muhaideb said the fair offered a promising platform for partnerships and exchange of expertise. Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat conveyed support from Ankara for Syria’s postwar path and said rebuilding the country was a priority for Turkey. Saudi Assistant Minister of Investment Abdullah al-Dubaikhi said previously signed economic agreements with Syria worth 24 billion Saudi riyals remained in motion and that further agreements, including in energy, would be signed soon.
SANA said more than 800 local and international companies from 20 Arab and foreign countries were participating across 95,000 square meters of exhibition space. That scale, if sustained over the fair’s run, would make the event one of the Syrian government’s most visible attempts to show that normal commercial life can resume under new political leadership.
On the event date, the fair’s importance therefore extended beyond booths and speeches. It served as a stage on which the Syrian government tried to convert regime change into an economic narrative: restored security, revived investment and renewed diplomatic engagement. Whether that message would translate into durable recovery remained unanswered. But the reopening of the Damascus International Fair gave the government a high-profile venue to argue that Syria was once again open for business.
