AGFUND Asks Damascus for Integrated Proposals: Schools, Water and Small Projects — and Reviving Al-Ibdaa Bank
Syria–AGFUND talks in Bangkok: integrated proposals in health, education, water, agriculture and sanitation, plus reviving Al-Ibdaa microfinance bank — no funding announced yet.
Bangkok — During the Syrian financial delegation’s participation in the 2026 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Bangkok (October 12–18), Finance Minister Mohammad Yusr Barnieh and Central Bank Governor Mohammad Safwat Raslan discussed development cooperation with Hammam bin Nasser bin Jurayd, CEO of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND), according to a Finance Ministry statement published on Friday, October 16.
What AGFUND wants: integrated proposals
AGFUND’s representatives expressed interest in receiving integrated proposals from the Syrian side covering health, education, water, agriculture and sanitation, in areas the Syrian government designates as priorities. The “Syria Without Camps” initiative and improving livelihoods topped the agenda, alongside a possible AGFUND contribution to the anti-poverty strategy now under preparation — whether in partnership with the government or through the programme’s own partners.
Microfinance returns to the table: Al-Ibdaa Bank
The talks also covered reactivating Al-Ibdaa Bank for Microfinance and expanding its network. The bank is a Syrian company founded in 2011 under Special Law No. 9 of 2010, in partnership between the Syrian government, the private sector and AGFUND, and it lends for agricultural, industrial, service, commercial and educational purposes. Supporting farmers and small agricultural projects, in cooperation with the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, was also discussed.
A thread that already exists
AGFUND’s interest in Syria did not begin with this meeting: in Riyadh, the programme signed partnership agreements with the United Nations Development Programme, one of them dedicated to maximizing the impact of investments in Syria through national institutional capacity-building, strategic planning and developing “investment maps” for the country. AGFUND’s executive director, Hammam bin Jurayd, said the agreement aims to provide investors with accurate data and statistics on Syria’s development needs.
Where things stand — and the next step
So far these are talks: no final funding has been announced and no application window has opened. But the next step is defined: the Syrian side prepares its integrated proposals, and AGFUND’s management has welcomed a visit to Syria to discuss which projects can be financed on the ground.
CIP’s take
For the construction and investment sector the value is twofold: rehabilitating schools, water and sanitation networks in priority areas means — once talks turn into financing — rehabilitation and construction works spread across the governorates; and reviving Al-Ibdaa Bank means a microfinance channel for farmers, small businesses and small contractors, the broadest segment of the reconstruction market. The practical date to watch: AGFUND management’s visit to Damascus.
Prepared by: Construction & Investment Prime Magazine (CIP)
Sources: Syrian Ministry of Finance statement (October 16, 2026) via Al-Ikhbariya; UNDP statement on its partnership agreements with AGFUND; CIP files.
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