Agreement between Syria and the Emirates for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant

According to the official Syrian agency Sana, "the Ministry of Electricity has signed a cooperation agreement with a consortium of Emirati companies for the construction of a photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 300 megawatts".

This plant will be built in the region of Wedyan al-Rabih, near the Techrine power plant in the vicinity of Damascus.

The deal was approved by the Syrian government last month and Syrian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer al-Khalil said it was the kick-off for future investments.

Syria is counting on the Emirates, a rich oil country in the Gulf, to come out of its isolation after 11 years of war which have devastated its economy, including the energy sector.

Power rationing can reach nearly 20 hours per day in certain areas held by the regime, due to the lack of fuel oil and gas to run its power plants.

On Tuesday, the head of the Emirati diplomacy, Abdallah bin Zayed al-Nahyane, had met President Bashar al-Assad, during the first visit to Damascus by a senior Emirati official since the start of the war in 2011, a trip criticized by the United States.

The Emirates, like the five other Arab monarchies in the Gulf, severed diplomatic relations with Syria in February 2012 as the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests turned into a complex and devastating war.

Abu Dhabi reopened its embassy in Damascus in December 2018, but relations had remained cold.