Syria has found a new investor for the strategic port of Tartus instead of Russia
The General Authority of Land and Sea Ports of Syria has signed an agreement with the UAE's DP World for $800 million. This was reported by Reuters.
Under the agreement, DP World will develop a multifunctional terminal in the port of Tartus on the Mediterranean coast. The parties also agreed to create industrial and free trade zones.
The agreement is a continuation of the memorandum of understanding signed between the countries in May this year.
This agreement became possible after US President Donald Trump signed a decree lifting sanctions against Syria. This opens the way for the country's economy, which has suffered from years of civil war, to recover and integrate into the global financial system.
Previously, the port of Tartus was the only foreign base of the Russian Navy. The country has been leasing the port from Syria since April 2019. The agreement was signed for 49 years, but was terminated after the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
In January 2025, the new Syrian government also terminated an agreement with the Russian company Stroytransgaz, which provided for investments in the modernization of the port worth more than $500 million over the next four years.
The military base in Tartus gave Russia direct access to the Mediterranean Sea and, together with the airfield in Hmeymim, served as a key point for the Kremlin's expansion of influence in the Middle East and Africa.
- on December 14, 2024, Reuters wrote that Russia was withdrawing its military from the front line but not leaving its two main bases (the Tartus naval base and the Khmeimim air base), and was negotiating with the new government to preserve the facilities. At the same time, similar data was published by and Bloomberg.
- On December 16, European diplomat Kallas said that the European Union would raise the issue of closing Russian bases in Syria during meetings with the new government.
- Already on December 17, the spokesman for the Syrian transitional government said, that there is no place for Russian presence in Syria and that Russia should reconsider its presence in the country.
- On January 27, 2025, Radio Liberty published satellite images showing Russia taking equipment out of the port in Tartus.