Bashar al-Assad and his father were still present in the money circulating throughout the country. It is the beginning of a process in Syria.
Bashar al-Assad Syria at the end of 2024. It was confirmation that the regime in the country was going to change.
But, of course, there continue to be “traces” of Syria’s former leader. Including in the money: notes of 2 thousand lire presented the appearance of Bashar al-Assad; the thousand-lire notes featured his father, Hafez al-Assad.
Now, these allusions to the al-Assad family are over. At least in money: this Monday the new currency of the country in Damascus, along with changes in banknotes.
The Interim President of Syria, Ahmed al-Shara, was alongside the governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdulkader Husrieh, to present a “new age” in the currency and a new process to Syria.
The new currency, which entered circulation on January 1, 2026, takes portraits of the Assad family and now the Syrian pound displays olives, wheat, oranges and other local agricultural products.
The new currency “expresses a new national identity and distances itself from individual veneration“. It has “symbolic forms relevant to the Syrian reality, as people come and go” from the country.
“By designing the current Syrian currency, we recovered the historical memory of products which were originally abundant in Syria”, described the governor of the Central Bank of Syria – highlighting wheat and olives.
The currency change process will be completed in 90 dias.
There are five priorities in this reform: ensuring monetary stability, creating a transparent foreign exchange market, a strong banking sector, a secure digital payments infrastructure and sustainable international financial integration.
Reminds you that Syria’s currency suffered a great devaluation after almost 14 years of civil war. At today’s exchange rate, one euro is worth 13 thousand Syrian pounds.
