Syria to hold large-scale national conference on country’s future: Reports

Damascus: A Syrian national conference is set to take place in Damascus on January 4 and 5 to discuss the country’s future after the fall of the Assad government, according to reports from various news outlets.

The conference is expected to announce the dissolution of all armed factions, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who played a key role in toppling the Assad government on December 8, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Turkish broadcaster A Haber.

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This will be the first pan-national conference since the dramatic regime change in the Arab country. Organisers plan to invite around 1,200 Syrians from both inside and outside the country, with an additional 70 to 100 representatives from each province, covering a range of social groups, according to media reports.

The conference is also expected to establish a constitutional drafting committee and propose the formation of a new government within a month. Representatives from youth groups, women’s organisations, the clergy, and civil societies are set to participate.

A preparatory committee will be formed for this forthcoming national conference.

The Syrian interim administration, led by Ahmed al-sharaa, has not issued any official statement concerning the conference.

In a separate development, on December 30, Syria’s interim administration appointed Maysaa Sabrine as governor of the country’s central bank.

Sabrine, who held a master’s degree in accounting, had served as the first deputy to the governor prior to her appointment, SANA reported.

Sabrine had worked at the bank since October 2018, when she became director of the Government Commission there, the report stated.

She had also led the bank’s office-based oversight division and represented the bank on the board of the Damascus Securities Exchange, starting in December 2018, it added.

No further details were provided on Sabrine’s upcoming policies. However, the appointment marked a milestone for female representation in the financial sector of Syria’s new political landscape.

A military coalition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham had waged a major military operation from northern Syria on November 27. It swept southwards, captured the capital, Damascus, and overthrew former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government within 12 days.