Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00health regarding narcotic drugs. This is also an important issue, starting
00:00:03from the import of this substance to its distribution to the patient, ensuring
00:00:07there is a precise mechanism to ensure that
00:00:10the invoice, or rather, the prescription, is accurately
00:00:14to this recorded in special tables and the invoice is for a one-time use, as I mentioned, for identifying
00:00:16this person. There is also a very precise mechanism that is also related to the Ministry of Health,
00:00:20because the drug law, as I said,
00:00:24TV. In fact, this has a fundamental and essential relationship with the Ministry of Health. There are
00:00:28many issues related to this law.
00:00:30Of course, the mechanism of combating it.
00:00:33There is also a very important matter in this regard, which is
00:00:36how to deal with, as I said, drug
00:00:40violations, which is a technical task, it is a professional task. It is not only
00:00:43a criminal act or a prosecution. There are technical matters that confirm this
00:00:47narcotic substance, its type. Of course, analyses are conducted
00:00:50for the person if this
00:00:52substance
00:00:55that is suspected to be an addict, for example, or a user. This substance is analyzed in
00:00:58their blood so that any person is referred to
00:01:02the supervising court or the criminal court. I mean, we are talking
00:01:06now, of course, about everything mentioned is all crimes that carry the description of
00:01:09a felony, judged by the criminal court. The narcotic substance must be seized,
00:01:12meaning when the person is referred, whether they are a user
00:01:16or a dealer, this substance is seized, and analyses are performed on it. There will
00:01:20be reports attached to this substance. This substance is referred to the
00:01:23obstacles, there are many criminal court to reach
00:01:25year. Unfortunately, it was delayed. So, is Syria's removal from not only the seizure of the shipment, but also the complete dismantling of the system
00:01:29and reaching the truth. Thank you very
00:01:30but the important thing is much, my guest Ghiath Dabour, lawyer and human rights activist,
00:01:34who was with us from Damascus. I also thank Basil Shabib,
00:01:38security expert, who was with us from Damascus, and Rana Sabbagh, investigative
00:01:41journalist from Amman. Thank you very much, my dear
00:01:44guests.
00:01:47the doors for that We continue with you, viewers, in Syria today, and after
00:01:49the break, we will discuss efforts to re-establish Syria's connection to the European banking
00:01:53system and preparations to delist Syria from the gray list
00:01:57for money
00:01:58governance and legislation in laundering.
00:02:02Transparency in data, transparency in Syria Radio
00:02:06with you wherever
00:02:08international banks in an atmosphere of you are. From Damascus
00:02:11Questions that do not shy away from to Aleppo, from
00:02:14and do not compromise on the coast to Al-Jazeera,
00:02:17the voice of Syria accompanies you wherever
00:02:20you are. Radio Syria TV
00:02:23on the unified frequency 99 FM
00:02:26in all Syrian cities and governorates.
00:02:30We accompany you with accurate news and diverse
00:02:33programs 24 hours a day. Radio
00:02:37Syria TV, your voice wherever
00:02:41integration or this you are.
00:03:45was affected at this
00:03:53difficult,
00:03:55European banks in
00:03:58banks? In
00:04:02The Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Safwan Raslan, held a series
00:04:05of meetings with representatives from international and European financial
00:04:09institutions and banks to develop
00:04:12salaries in banking relations during his first official visit to the French capital,
00:04:14Paris. The Central Bank of Syria said that Raslan discussed
00:04:18ways to reconnect Syria to the European banking system
00:04:22an important detail. We are a country open to and enhance financial cooperation and expand the network of correspondent banks
00:04:25and facilitate trade financing, in addition to
00:04:28developing payment channels and international transfers.
00:04:31For its part, the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism
00:04:35Financing Authority stated that the mutual evaluation of the
00:04:39trust and moving from the gray anti-money laundering system in Syria will begin mid-
00:04:42next year as part of the procedural and preparatory steps
00:04:45to consider delisting Syria from the gray list,
00:04:49confirming that Syria is working diligently to
00:04:52implement all recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force
00:04:55and its standards.
00:05:02Regarding this topic, I welcome my guest from Damascus, Dr. Khaled Al-Hamdi,
00:05:06expert in economic planning, and I also welcome Muhammad Al-Alabi,
00:05:11on the grey economic researcher, with us from Freiburg. Welcome to you both. I will start with you, Dr. Khaled,
00:05:15to talk about these efforts to reconnect Syria
00:05:18to the European banking system. What does the
00:05:22Syrian banking system actually need in practice to return
00:05:27system?
00:05:30Good evening, Dima, and our dear guest
00:05:33and viewers of Syria
00:05:37is a step towards building the Syrian economy.
00:05:40We know that banks are the artery
00:05:43of the economic body. Without banks, the economic
00:05:46body will suffocate
00:05:50completely. The
00:05:53banks need everything. We need to reorder
00:05:56the internal banking system,
00:05:59and this has been worked on for about eight months.
00:06:02And France has a big role in
00:06:05strengthening the
00:06:09transformation and transition of the banking situation to a situation
00:06:13that is closer to ideal, despite
00:06:16the difficult circumstances of the Syrian banking situation.
00:06:19This visit is not a ceremonial
00:06:22visit or an official visit, but rather
00:06:25a visit for the transition
00:06:27of Syria to global
00:06:31integration, even if reluctantly. There are many
00:06:36shortcomings, but work is being done to restore
00:06:39the internal banking system in Syria.
00:06:42Therefore, it is part of the mosaic of building the Syrian
00:06:46economic network entirely. Today,
00:06:49we need programs, we need economic
00:06:53analysis, we need integration
00:06:55with global markets with global banks.
00:06:59The visit was, in fact, I followed this
00:07:02visit from beginning to end. In fact, all the basics
00:07:06very operational, linked
00:07:10to developing institutional work. There were major meetings
00:07:14with very large banks in France. We
00:07:16are talking about France Bank, we are talking about the Bank of France.
00:07:20Of course, this visit
00:07:23has been prepared for since July, and it was prepared for
00:07:26when President Macron visited Syria,
00:07:29and it was prepared for
00:07:33through French training programs
00:07:36to reach this situation. Today, in Syria, we
00:07:39need to rebuild everything.
00:07:43related to banking work, we need them in Syria.
00:07:45And has the
00:07:49technical, operational, and regulatory infrastructure that allows for this
00:07:54merging
00:07:56been completed? In fact, it's not ideal, but it's being worked on.
00:08:00I mean, it's not necessary for this visit to solve all problems
00:08:04for us to have an economic reality. Today, this
00:08:07visit is very important. It's a step towards
00:08:10putting Syria on the right global economic banking
00:08:14path. Today, any bank, any
00:08:17European bank, or French
00:08:20or international bank, does not only look at the Central Bank
00:08:24of Syria. Any bank in Syria is under the microscope.
00:08:28There is monitoring of these
00:08:30banks, auditing their data.
00:08:34These banks, madam, look at the issue of money laundering, smuggling
00:08:38or financing terrorism
00:08:42with caution. Therefore, we in Syria need everything,
00:08:45but this visit is very important. Yes. So, how do you read
00:08:48that, Mr. Muhammad? What really
00:08:52distinguishes this visit, as my guest mentioned a moment ago,
00:08:55that it is not a fleeting visit, and it is
00:08:58important for Syria's transition to global integration? What are the chances
00:09:02of actually regaining banking trust, and what is the reason for this hesitation from
00:09:07dealing with Syrian
00:09:25about, I mean, major meetings with major banks
00:09:29in France, I think there is only the French Central
00:09:32Bank. The rest are all Arab banks, I mean,
00:09:36essentially French or European banks, their names
00:09:39are written in French and in English,
00:09:43but they are not French or English
00:09:45banks.
00:09:48I mean, I want to give an example: الخليجي فرنسا
00:09:51Bank France Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank,
00:09:55these are all Arab banks, I mean, in the end.
00:09:58So, it is necessary to talk about this
00:10:01because we must
00:10:05know that until now, European
00:10:09banks and the European banking system, and the global
00:10:11banking system in general, are still hesitant
00:10:15to deal with the Syrian banking sector. And the reasons here are multiple.
00:10:18I mean, there is something related to Syria's classification
00:10:23list of the Financial Action Task
00:10:26Force (FATF), and this is,
00:10:29I think, a problem that requires long and continuous work.
00:10:32The first steps will probably begin in the middle of
00:10:35next year, and it will be, I mean, a technical
00:10:39process that takes a long time to build the appropriate
00:10:42infrastructure for it, such
00:10:45as Know Your Customer, I mean, know your customer, because the bank in Europe,
00:10:49to simplify it for the viewers, when the bank in Europe wants to transfer
00:10:5310 million dollars to Syria, for example,
00:10:56it wants the Syrian bank, the bank in
00:10:59Syria, to tell it exactly
00:11:02who the beneficiary is, who will receive this
00:11:06money. Does their income and work,
00:11:09their profession, qualify them to receive this large
00:11:11amount?
00:11:14Will it be a suspicious deal
00:11:17in which the last beneficiary,
00:11:20I mean, the beneficial
00:11:24owner behind the final beneficiary of this
00:11:27transaction, be a sanctioned person, for example, because we still have
00:11:31sanctioned people in Syria. So, this is the infrastructure
00:11:34that, until it is available, Mrs. Dima, we
00:11:38are forced to work for a long time, it could
00:11:41take two years. But in my opinion,
00:11:45it was very necessary to start this process in the first
00:11:50the gray list enough to restore the trust of European banks? No, no,
00:11:55I was going to add this as well.
00:11:58It's not enough, so we don't deceive the viewers
00:12:02as happened in the beginning, that people thought that
00:12:06sanctions were the only obstacle.
00:12:08No, sanctions are not the obstacle, and the gray list is not the only
00:12:12obstacle. Many countries were on the gray list and had a banking
00:12:15system that operated at the minimum level. The main
00:12:18obstacle, in my opinion, Ms. Dima, is
00:12:23Syria. I mean, we have a monetary
00:12:26system, a system for managing cash in Syria, which is
00:12:30the basic monetary system or law, I mean, the currency
00:12:33and credit law needs to be reviewed.
00:12:36In this, and this means
00:12:40that the work of the Central Bank is intertwined
00:12:43with the People's Assembly because this law needs
00:12:46amendment. There are other
00:12:49matters related to the governance of banks themselves because
00:12:53the governance of banks,
00:12:56the conditions for licensing
00:12:57banks, the minimum limits
00:13:01for bank assets, these are all matters
00:13:05that require review, in addition
00:13:08to
00:13:11the informal transfer channels. This is unsolvable, I mean,
00:13:14because the cash economy is an enemy. Why are we talking about why
00:13:18these informal channels are still in place? What prevents
00:13:21them from being officially recognized
00:13:25like in all countries?
00:13:28In reality, it's a very long and heavy legacy,
00:13:31from sanctions to a dilapidated banking sector.
00:13:35In the beginning, it was a government banking sector, I mean, during
00:13:39the time of Assad the father, then
00:13:41during the era of Bashar, I mean, during
00:13:45the era of
00:13:48the Far, it opened up a bit, and there were
00:13:51private banks, but they also remained restricted in many
00:13:56of their operations. They used Lebanon as an external platform
00:14:00in many cases, and then when
00:14:03the Lebanese banking system collapsed in 2019,
00:14:07Syria as a whole
00:14:10level, and the reliance on
00:14:13informal transfer methods increased and became an essential part of the economy. It became
00:14:18very difficult to get out of it,
00:14:22but one of the biggest problems is that the government is not giving
00:14:25real signals to restore confidence in the banking
00:14:29sector. And the most important signal, Ms. Dima, the most important signal
00:14:33is the re-payment of salaries, localizing
00:14:37public and private banks. I mean,
00:14:41there is no justification
00:14:44for us to continue localizing salaries
00:14:47through
00:14:49an electronic payment method that is not guaranteed
00:14:53and not licensed and has no sponsoring bank.
00:14:56So, what is your opinion, Mr. Khaled, on that,
00:15:00on the issue of exiting
00:15:03list? Is it really not enough to restore,
00:15:07as my guest mentioned, the issue of trust
00:15:10for European banks, and there are several facts
00:15:14and several factors related to re-paying salaries and also
00:15:17governance in legislation in Syria needs review?
00:15:20To what extent is there really time for the relevant
00:15:24authorities to complete these tasks
00:15:27based on the allowed period before mid-
00:15:30next year?
00:15:34Yes, in fact, today, what is required of the Syrian
00:15:38government and those responsible for the banking situation, whether it is the Central Bank
00:15:42of Syria or those in charge of the economic
00:15:44situation in Syria today, is to update
00:15:47legislation. Madam, during
00:15:51the days of the defunct Ba'ath regime, if
00:15:54someone sent a transfer to, I mean, someone sent a
00:15:57transfer to their parents, the family would be subjected
00:16:00to an investigation that could last for months. So we are talking about a banking
00:16:03situation that did not exist. It was only to serve
00:16:08the Assad regime.
00:16:10What we are doing today in Syria and what the Syrian
00:16:13government is doing, I mean, with truly commendable
00:16:17efforts, despite the pressure,
00:16:19but there are shortcomings. In fact, today we
00:16:23lack updated legislation, and this issue
00:16:25is
00:16:32there is no obstacle to the People's Assembly, which has only met
00:16:36a few weeks ago.
00:16:47We must pay attention to activating correspondent banks, and this
00:16:50is a very important step because it is important for investors. We must
00:16:54enhance confidence in the banking situation
00:16:57and localize localize funds in banks
00:17:00and enhance the profit rates in these banks
00:17:04because they encourage citizens to localize
00:17:08funds to develop payment
00:17:11systems and international transfers. Mr. Khaled, what is the required
00:17:15action today to effectively develop international payment
00:17:18and transfer systems? Expanding the network
00:17:20of banks to effectively restore full confidence
00:17:24in European banks?
00:17:27We, Dima, we need to strengthen
00:17:30the independence of monetary policy in
00:17:33Syria. Today, we need absolute transparency.
00:17:40supervision, and also restoring relations with
00:17:45trust. Banks are not just treasuries
00:17:48for money; they are treasuries for trust. If foreign
00:17:52banks lose trust in the Syrian
00:17:54bank, that will have a catastrophic
00:17:57impact. The situation today is not ideal,
00:18:00but efforts are being made to
00:18:04put the banking situation in Syria on the right track.
00:18:08And I appeared on the honorable Syria TV a few
00:18:11months ago, and we talked about the European mission that
00:18:15is training, developing, and assisting, which is a technical committee.
00:18:19The employees at the Central Bank
00:18:24are working on financial analysis
00:18:27policy, risk management
00:18:30and advanced programs
00:18:34developed countries. What the Syrian
00:18:36state is doing is within reality and capabilities.
00:18:40I mean, in my opinion, today we must
00:18:43encourage any step taken by the Syrian state. Going back to your
00:18:46question regarding,
00:18:51the gray list,
00:18:54mean the removal of all sanctions or
00:18:57obstacles, but it is a step in the right direction.
00:19:00And by the way, the FATF
00:19:03organization, or the FATF, it
00:19:07has two types of lists: black lists and gray lists.
00:19:10Gray lists are less severe than black
00:19:14lists. I mean, in other words,
00:19:17with some reforms, with transparency from the Syrian
00:19:21government, the removal will happen, and the removal will be
00:19:25around 2027, but it is
00:19:28not everything, as our friend Muhammad mentioned.
00:19:32Of course, it is part of the solution,
00:19:35but the visit of Mr.
00:19:38Safwat to France, I expect it
00:19:41will facilitate banking transfers and improve
00:19:45the speed of transfers and reduce the costs of banking
00:19:48intermediation. Every single part of these
00:19:52parts will reflect on the Syrian citizen and reflect on the Syrian state
00:19:56and, I mean, there is also
00:19:59trade, trade financing, documentary
00:20:02credits, I mean, bank
00:20:05guarantees and
00:20:07documents and financing exports, financing
00:20:10imports, all of these are important. But in my opinion,
00:20:14strengthening trust, strengthening
00:20:17theoretical talk and beautiful and pleasant
00:20:20meetings to practical
00:20:23work, this is what we want in Syria. Today, in Syria, we
00:20:26need absolute transparency, we need to start working,
00:20:30I mean, for the Syrian citizen to feel the impact of these meetings and these
00:20:33decisions on their daily life.
00:20:40To feel this, we need no less
00:20:43than, I mean, between two to three years for
00:20:47the Syrian citizen to feel the situation.
00:20:58To what extent can we, Mr. Al-Alabi, actually differentiate between
00:21:01Syria's inclusion on the gray list and the difference between
00:21:05the gray list and the black
00:21:07list? Mr. Muhammad, if you can hear me, regarding
00:21:11separating the file of combating terrorism or money
00:21:14laundering from the file of sanctions, how can we distinguish
00:21:17between them today?
00:21:19No, combating money laundering and terrorism financing is
00:21:23an ongoing process. I mean, in all countries of the world, it is
00:21:26an ongoing process. Syria is on the gray list, and of course,
00:21:30there are annual meetings where delegations from the FATF,
00:21:33from the Financial Action Task Force, come to Damascus
00:21:37and conduct assessments.
00:21:39There are also employees who remain in Damascus,
00:21:43appointed by the FATF itself, who then
00:21:46monitor the extent of banks' compliance.
00:21:50How many cases are being transferred to the judiciary,
00:21:53how many cases are being uncovered,
00:21:56when is the Governor of the Central
00:22:00Bank intervening in his senior capacity as
00:22:03the head of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism
00:22:06Financing Authority? There might be other requests later
00:22:10to amend the structure of this authority. So these are all
00:22:14technical matters. We don't want to confuse the viewers
00:22:17too much with them,
00:22:20to differentiate between sanctions and banking
00:22:24supervision. Banking supervision is an ongoing
00:22:27and permanent process, and we need it because
00:22:30when there is no banking supervision in a country, then
00:22:33we are opening
00:22:37country to be
00:22:39a place for tax evasion, for drug
00:22:42money, for terrorist money, for arms
00:22:46dealers' money. So these are harmful funds.
00:22:50Absolutely harmful funds because they do not come for a noble purpose. They come
00:22:53to be laundered in Syria, and this
00:22:57destroys the economy. So,
00:23:00during the past two years, unfortunately, we have a very big deficiency
00:23:04in performance. I do not know, in fact,
00:23:08the competence of the
00:23:11existing team to manage this process.
00:23:15We are talking about the arrival
00:23:19of the FATF, the Financial Action Task Force, in mid-2027. I mean, from
00:23:22then on, evaluations will begin.
00:23:25So, I believe Syria
00:23:28has started. So, during this period,
00:23:31during the coming months, what must Syria achieve
00:23:35for these European meetings to turn
00:23:38into actual agreements on the
00:23:40ground?
00:23:43Mrs. Dima, look,
00:23:46everyone in Syria, unfortunately, has
00:23:50and, by the way, this is part of the media discourse that misled
00:23:54many
00:23:56people. People have the idea that the West and abroad must approve
00:23:59of us. No, that's not the idea. They must trust
00:24:03us. No, that's not the idea. First, we,
00:24:06as banks, as the Syrian banking sector, must regain the trust of the Syrian
00:24:10citizen. I mean, this comes first,
00:24:14because no one will trust you abroad if your citizen doesn't trust
00:24:18you. Do you understand? Aha.
00:24:20The first step that must be taken is to regain the trust of the Syrian
00:24:24citizen. I mean, how can I, as a citizen,
00:24:27go to the bank and deposit money, and I am confident that
00:24:31tomorrow a decision will not be issued that prevents me from withdrawing my money from the bank
00:24:34and freezes liquidity? Therefore, it is
00:24:38based. I mean,
00:24:41why does the state, why does the government, why do the official
00:24:44institutions transfer the salaries of their employees
00:24:47through transfer methods that are not licensed,
00:24:51while there are banks in the country, there are public banks and there are private banks? Yes.
00:24:55I mean, these are the signals
00:24:58that will restore the confidence of citizens in the banking
00:25:02sector. Then we have
00:25:05these meetings that we are working on, and also
00:25:08the paths that we are working on with the World Bank, with the International Monetary Fund, with
00:25:12international institutions, and donors. We must
00:25:14start bringing funding for this public banking sector, both its
00:25:18public and private parts. I mean, we must start bringing
00:25:21our private investors and bring and bring for the public also so that the banking
00:25:25sector can play its fundamental role, which is
00:25:28lending. Thank you. Thank you very much, Muhammad Al-Alabi, economic
00:25:32researcher, who was with us from Freiburg. Thank you very much.
00:25:35And Dr. Khaled Al-Hamdi, expert in economic
00:25:38planning, who was with us from Damascus. Thank you
00:25:41very much. Viewers, we have reached the end of this episode of Syria
00:25:45Today. Goodbye and may God
00:25:46keep you safe.
00:28:35And Syrians now have a country. We are in
00:28:38its center.
00:28:40In
00:28:44a country that lived oppression, injustice, displacement,
00:28:47and war, but it revolted until
00:28:51it triumphed. In a country where
00:28:55narratives vary and discourses
00:28:57contradict.
00:29:02Dialogues and debates
00:29:12about
00:29:12the most
00:29:17important and most
00:29:19complex issues
00:29:23until we meet at a point
00:29:25that unites us
00:29:27in the city center on Syria TV
00:29:31and the second channel.
00:30:24Good morning, news bulletin from Syria TV. We begin
00:30:27with the headlines.
00:30:31The main road between Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor at Khneifis bridge, east of
00:30:34Raqqa, is cut off due to
00:30:35floods.
00:30:39The Borders and Customs Authority announces the thwarting of a drug
00:30:42smuggling attempt through the Jiser Qamar border crossing with
00:30:46Lebanon.
00:30:50Internal Security announces the arrest of a cell belonging to the organization.