Explained: The Syrian Development Fund

On June 24, Syrian transitional president Ahmad Sharaa issued Decree No. 112, establishing the Syrian Development Fund (SYDF), headquartered in Damascus with branches in the governorates. The fund aims to contribute to reconstruction and support the overall development process by financing infrastructure projects and essential services such as electricity, water, health and education. The fund’s sources of financing include domestic and external grants, loans, international aid, and individual donations.

The fund is formally an independent institution but under Article 2 of Decree No. 112 the Fund is directly linked to the Syrian presidency. The decree further stipulates that both the Board of Directors and the director-general are appointed by presidential decree, and that the director-general is accountable to the board and to the presidency. The board includes the ministers of finance, economy, social affairs and labour, among others.  Its bylaws are defined by the presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of Finance. Mohammad Safwat Abdel-Hamid Raslan was appointed Director-General of the SYDF via Decree No. 117.

Article 14 also states that the organisational structure of the fund, including its staffing table, is to be issued by decree, confirming that the key powers related to the Fund’s establishment, management, and structure rest exclusively with the Presidency of the Republic.

The decree refers twice to the concept of the “benevolent loan” (al-qard al-hasan), without defining the term. A benevolent loan is a form of lending to those in need, without any interest or profit, on the condition that the borrowed amount is repaid in full at an agreed time. It is regarded as a tool of social solidarity based on assistance rather than investment. The concept is widespread in Islamic communities as a religious and ethical practice derived from Islamic jurisprudence. The most prominent institutional model is the Qard Al-Hasan Association in Lebanon, affiliated with Hezbollah, which operates as a non-profit financial association providing interest-free loans to broad social segments but has faced accusations of functioning as a financial arm of the party, leading to its being subjected to international sanctions.

The SYDF, along with the Syrian Investment Agency and the Sovereign Fund, are entities subordinate to the Higher Council for Economic Development (HCED), a source working at the Development Fund told The Syria Report. The HCED was established under Decree No. 115 in June 2025, with the aim of achieving economic stability in Syria, stimulating and developing it, and overseeing numerous bodies, organisations, and economic institutions operating within the state’s economic plan, in addition to adopting strategies and general plans related to investment. The Supreme Council for Development is chaired by the Syrian president and includes the ministers of economy and industry, energy, finance, tourism, communications and information technology, public works and housing, and agriculture.

The source explained that the SYDF will work to evacuate camps in northern Syria and return displaced residents to their original areas in three stages. The first stage involves the fund’s support for local administrative units to rehabilitate the areas from which the camp residents were displaced. These areas have not yet been identified, pending a survey of all affected regions and the setting of priorities among them. The second stage involves removing rubble from the designated areas and repairing damaged homes there, with the fund financing the administrative units to cover the costs of rubble removal and restoration. The third stage involves supporting agricultural cooperatives to implement agricultural projects for those returning to rural areas and to provide them with essential services.

A source in the fund indicated that there is ongoing coordination with the administrative units to identify their priority areas for reconstruction, finance them, and supervise implementation. After completion, a committee external to the fund’s management will be formed to audit the disbursed amounts. The source did not rule out contracting private companies to conduct the auditing in order to ensure transparency.

According to data published on the fund’s official website, the fund gathered USD 83 million in donations between its September 4 launch ceremony and October 3. The donations came from 12,141 Syrians or local private institutions. The launch ceremony was held in the historic Damascus Citadel and attended by the transitional president Ahmad Al-Sharaa  along with officials and businessmen. Donations are made through the fund’s website and transferred to accounts in contracted local private banks. The donation channel remains open without a specified deadline for closure.

USD 6.5 million of the collected funds are earmarked for reconstruction. Some donors requested that their contributions be directed to specific sectors, such as education, which has so far received USD 100,000 through this mechanism. The source mentioned that numerous meetings have been held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find mechanisms to facilitate donations from Syrian expatriates, given the difficulties in transferring funds to Syrian banks. The source also referred to ongoing communication with international organisations and with a number of Arab and Gulf and foreign countries to support the fund.