Trade as a Driver of Post-Conflict Recovery: Syria’s Global Economic Reintegration in Comparative Perspective

Syria has renewed its efforts to reintegrate into the global economy amid a period of increased diplomatic and economic engagement. Key developments include the restoration of the EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement in May 2026, stronger IMF involvement, renewed foreign investor interest, and preliminary agreements with regional partners. Despite this progress, the opening remains highly fragile. Fourteen years of conflict have contracted the economy, pushing development back to mid-1990s levels, deepened poverty, weakened institutions, and left unresolved security, displacement, and social cohesion challenges. Against this backdrop, the panel discussion titled “Trade as a Driver of Post-Conflict Recovery: Syria’s Global Economic Reintegration in Comparative Perspective” will examine Syria’s post-conflict reconstruction as a case study for how economic reintegration can support resilience and peace dividends within a fragile transition. While maintaining Syria as the primary focus, the session will situate the discussion within the wider Arab region, where countries such as Iraq and Libya are also navigating the relationship between conflict recovery, institutional rebuilding, economic governance, and reintegration into the multilateral trading system. Drawing on these broader regional experiences, the panel will explore how trade and WTO accession-related reforms can support post-conflict recovery while remaining sensitive to each country’s political, institutional, and security context. The discussion will consider how trade-related reforms can contribute to regulatory modernization, transparency, institutional capacity, private sector recovery, and predictability for trade and investment. It will also address persistent risks, including exclusion, fragile institutions, unresolved displacement, regional instability, and the possible re-emergence of war economies.