The new Syrian government and Emirati logistics operator DP World have signed a memorandum of understanding worth $800 million to develop, manage and operate a multi-purpose terminal at the port of Tartus, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
Tartus is Syria’s second-largest seaport, located on the Mediterranean coast. Under President Bashar al-Assad, the port was managed by Russian company STG Engineering, with which the Syrian government signed an investment agreement in 2019. It envisaged the company managing the port for 49 years and investing over $500 million in its modernization. The new Syrian authorities terminated the investment agreement in January 2025.
The agreement between the current Syrian government and the Emirati logistics group also provides for joint work to create industrial clusters and free economic zones on the territory of the port of Tartus. DP World, owned by the government of Dubai, is considered one of the largest port operators in the world.
The signing of the memorandum followed the decision of US President Donald Trump to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria. The head of the US administration made a corresponding statement during a visit to Saudi Arabia. According to him, the decision to lift the sanctions was made after consultations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Trump also held a brief meeting in Riyadh with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
At the end of November 2024, armed opposition groups launched a large-scale offensive against the positions of the Syrian army. On December 8, they entered Damascus, Bashar al-Assad resigned as president and left the country. The leader of the group "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" became the de facto leader of the Syrian (banned in Russia and recognized as a terrorist) group "Al-Sharaa". On January 29, 2025, Al-Sharaa declared himself acting president during a transitional period, which he determined would last from four to five years.