Qatar to provide $87 million in salary support for Syrian civil servants

Qatar has committed to providing $87 million in salary support for Syrian civil servants across key civilian sectors.

The funds will be disbursed over a period of three months, at $29 million per month, with the possibility of extension, Syria TV reported on May 8, citing interim Finance Minister Muhammad Barnia.

“We thank the Qatari government for providing assistance to cover part of the current salary costs,” Barnia stated. “The aid will go to employees in health, education, and social security sectors, as well as civilian pensioners.”

The Qatari initiative, which has been exempted from US sanctions, is to be administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). “We thank the US Treasury Department for its quick response and cooperation,” Barnia added. He said the aid will cover about one-fifth of the government's current payroll expenses.

Years of war, international sanctions, and decades of authoritarian economic mismanagement have devastated Syria’s state institutions. Most civil servants have been surviving on severely depressed wages, while the government of transitional President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who came to power after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels last year, struggles to secure international legitimacy and financial support.

Two sources briefed on the arrangement told Reuters that the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is expected to issue a formal letter confirming that the Qatari aid is exempt from existing US sanctions. The exemption signals a measured shift in Washington’s stance. European nations have already moved more swiftly toward easing sanctions on Syria.

According to a Syrian financial official, the funding comes with strict conditions. It is to be used solely for civilian public-sector salaries, excluding personnel from the interior and defence ministries. That stipulation reflects ongoing Western unease about HTS, the former jihadist group that overthrew Assad and now forms the basis of Syria’s new governing coalition.

The same source said disbursements would begin next month, enabling the Syrian government to gradually implement a long-promised 400% salary increase for over a million state employees. Damascus, for its part, is expected to find the funds to match this increase for civil servants not covered by the Qatari-backed initiative.

The Qatari government had planned this support package shortly after HTS toppled Assad in 2024, but implementation was delayed amid uncertainty over US sanctions and the Trump administration’s evolving Syria policy.

Recent regional efforts appear to have unlocked a path forward. Last month, both Qatar and Saudi Arabia jointly settled Syria’s outstanding debts to the World Bank — a move that reopened the door to loans and grants for Damascus. Saudi Arabia also co-hosted a Syria-focused meeting during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, which saw the participation of Syria’s finance minister and central bank governor for the first time in over a decade.

In a separate development, the previous US administration had issued a general license on January 6 allowing transactions with Syrian governing institutions for six months. The exemption aimed to facilitate humanitarian aid and cooperation on energy projects while maintaining the broader sanctions regime. However, international partners have continued to seek further legal guarantees for engagement with Damascus.

President Sharaa has repeatedly called for the lifting of Western sanctions, which were initially imposed in response to Assad’s brutal suppression of dissent during the civil war that began in 2011. Reviving Syria’s economy — now undergoing a shift toward market liberalization after decades of state protectionism — remains one of Sharaa’s key goals.

Nine out of ten Syrians now live in poverty, according to the United Nations.

In January, Syria’s interim finance ministry estimated that the planned 400% wage increase would cost about 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds (approximately $130 million) per month. At the time, officials pointed to expected regional aid as a critical source of funding for the raise.

By Tamilla Hasanova