DAMASCUS, Syria: Syria will host an Arab energy conference in 2024, the country’s energy ministry said Thursday, the latest sign that Arab countries are moving to re-engage with the government of Syria’s embattled President Bashar Assad.
The announcement followed a unanimous vote from members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries during a virtual meeting Thursday, the ministry said. The conference will be held in Damascus, according to a ministry statement on Facebook and the official state news agency SANA. Qatar is hosting the 2023 conference.
Arab countries have in recent months been making limited moves to improve relations with Syria, a decade after it was shunned and kicked out of the Arab League at the onset of the country’s civil war in 2011.
The rapprochement has included the reopening of several embassies, visits by Arab officials to Damascus and restoring some commercial ties with the war-torn country. The moves are a recognition of the facts on the ground — after years of war and despite the initial support by some Arab countries to his opposition, Assad’s government has survived and his forces have regained control of much of the country.
Syria’s civil war has displaced half of its population, killed hundreds of thousands and driven the country’s economy into the ground.
Before the war, Syria produced 350,000 barrels of oil a day, exporting more than half of it. It now averages around 24,000 barrels a day, covering only a fraction of domestic needs. Most of its oil fields are in the hands of Kurdish-led forces, who administer an autonomous region in the country’s northeast. Assad’s government has relied on a top ally, Iran, for oil supplies.
In recent weeks, a deal was signed with Egypt to extend natural gas through Syria to Lebanon using an Arab oil pipeline that has been out of service for a decade.
OAPEC was founded in Beirut in 1968 with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya as its first members. Its headquarters are in Kuwait. Algeria, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain joined three years later. The organization’s charter was later changed to allow members where petroleum is an essential source of income, though not the main one. Syria and Egypt also subsequently joined the group.
The organization’s website says the total reserves of the member states are estimated at 704 billion barrels a year.
As ties warm, Syria to host a 2024 Arab energy conference
https://arab.news/9hxbd
As ties warm, Syria to host a 2024 Arab energy conference
- The announcement followed a unanimous vote from members of OAPEC during a virtual meeting Thursday
- Arab countries have in recent months been making limited moves to improve relations with Syria
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,167
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 46.43 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 11,167.54.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.88 billion ($1.30 billion), as 66 of the listed stocks advanced, while 192 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 5.52 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 1,506.55.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 153.40 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 23,486.52. This comes as 32 of the listed stocks advanced, while 31 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Tourism Enterprise Co., with its share price surging 9.95 percent to SR14.36.
Other top performers included Mobile Telecommunication Co., Saudi Arabia, which saw its share price rise by 5.32 percent to SR11.48, and Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co., which saw a 4.86 percent increase to SR22.89.
On the downside, Almoosa Health Co. was the day’s weakest performer, with its share price falling 4.81 percent to SR150.40.
Dallah Healthcare Co. fell 3.81 percent to SR113.50, while Saudi Research and Media Group dropped 3.44 percent to SR100.90.
On the corporate front, Arabian Plastic Industrial Co. has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with K. K. Nag to explore the establishment of a specialized manufacturing facility for expanded polypropylene products.
According to a Tadawul statement, the agreement sets out initial mutual obligations and rights between the two parties as part of APICO’s broader expansion strategy to increase production capacity and meet rising industrial demand.
The company’s share price rose 1.21 percent to SR43.52 on the parallel market.
