Update April 2000: Syria

1. Overview

A major change has taken place in Syria with respect to the ministries related to IS development. A new government was formed on 13 March 2000, and most concerned ministers were replaced. The new government is supposed to start a renewal and modernisation of the public administration and improve the economic situation of the country. Various policies will be implemented and the most important of which include: increasing the private sector share in the economy (possibly through some privatisation), overhauling the economic institutions such as the banks, and revising the laws related to the economy.

It is expected that the new government, through the changes it will induce, will have a positive impact on the development of Information Society in Syria.

2. Ministries and Governmental Organisations

Following is the list of ministers in the newly formed government that are related to IS in Syria:

• Dr. Mustafa Miro, Prime Minister
• Dr. Muhammad Imadi, Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade
• Eng. Redwan Martini, Minister of Communications
• Eng. Muneeb Saem Al-Dahr, Minister of Electricity
• Eng. Maher Jammal, Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources
• Mr. Adnan Omran, Minister of Information
• Dr. Maha Kannout, Minister of Culture
• Dr. Mahmoud Al-Sayed, Minister of Education
• Dr. Hassan Risheh, Minister of Higher Education
• Eng. Mukram Obeid, Minister of Transport
• Eng. Ahmad Hamo, Minister of Industry

As a consequence of the new ministerial changes, STE, which is the sole operator of the conventional telephony, satellite and submarine communication infrastructure in Syria, has lost its Director General (DG) who became the Minister of Transport. Acting DG of STE is now Eng. Ziad Azzouz who has been Deputy DG for several years. A new DG for STE would be named soon.