Syria Central Bank Sends First SWIFT Message to the US Federal Reserve

The Syrian Central Bank has officially transmitted its first SWIFT message to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a symbolic and strategic move signaling Damascus’ intent to fully reintegrate into the international financial system.

Speaking exclusively to Reuters, Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh confirmed the milestone on Thursday, describing the communication as both a technical step and a diplomatic gesture.

“We sent a greeting to all international correspondent banks,” Husrieh said. “We began with the Federal Reserve… telling them we are back in the international financial system and looking forward to long-term commercial relations.”

For Syria, the act of sending a SWIFT message extends far beyond technology. It represents a deliberate declaration of financial re-engagement after years of economic blockade, wartime collapse, and crippling sanctions that severed ties with most major Western banking institutions.

Rebuilding those networks is essential. The Syrian government faces the enormous task of securing large-scale international transfers to fund reconstruction, revive investment flows, and stabilize an economy battered by more than a decade of conflict.

Husrieh had previously signaled this ambition. In an interview with Al Arabiya last August, he confirmed the Central Bank was actively pursuing full re-admission to the global SWIFT network, framing the step as a turning point for the Syrian banking sector.

He argued then, and reiterates now, that the eased pressure on the banking system has already helped curb inflation and strengthen the Syrian pound, offering a glimpse of macroeconomic stabilization.

The SWIFT network (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is the backbone of global financial messaging. It does not transfer money itself but ensures that instructions for international payments are transmitted securely, accurately, and quickly.

For Syria, reconnecting means restoring transparent, monitored channels for international transfers, opening the door for foreign investment and remittances, and rebuilding correspondent-banking relationships with major institutions, as well as reducing reliance on informal or opaque money channels

In short; access to SWIFT is not just technical access, it is economic legitimacy.

By directing its first message to the U.S. Federal Reserve, arguably the most influential financial institution on the planet, Damascus is making a statement of intent: that Syria aims to reconnect not just regionally but globally.