Syria's bid to a new trading corridor

For centuries, from the era of the Silk Road through the twentieth century, Syria occupied a central position in global trade as a transit point linking East and West. More than a decade of civil war reversed that legacy, gutting the country's infrastructure and cutting it off from the commercial routes that once ran through it. Now, with the country relatively more stable and regional trade thrown into disarray by the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Syria is positioning itself to reclaim some of that historic role as an overland route for energy, food, and other goods.

A strategic location

Syria's geography gives its ambitions plausible foundation. Sitting in the Levant, the country borders Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon, and has a modest Mediterranean coastline anchored by the ports of Latakia and Tartus. That position places Syria along potential routes stretching from Egypt to Turkey, or from the Gulf to the Mediterranean and on into Europe.

Before this year's war with Iran, the vast majority of Gulf exports moved through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that historically carried roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas supply, making it one of the most important maritime chokepoints anywhere. A nominal ceasefire between the United States and Iran has done little to change the situation on the ground, and the strait remains effectively contested to shipping traffic, with no clear sign of when, or whether, it will return to pre-war functionality. That has pushed Gulf producers to scramble for alternatives.

Oil begins moving overland

Saudi Arabia has leaned more heavily on its East-West pipeline, exporting via the Red Sea port of Yanbu to sidestep Hormuz entirely. For Iraq, Syria has emerged as another option. Since late March, convoys of hundreds of tanker trucks have carried Iraqi oil across the Syrian border, through the country, and to the Mediterranean coast for shipment to European buyers. The United Arab Emirates has sent similar shipments overland through Syrian territory.

Mazen Alouche, who directs local and international relations for Syria's Border Authority, described the shift as neighboring countries beginning to seek access to Syrian ports almost as soon as the strait closed.

The volumes involved remain small compared to the Gulf's normal output. But Damascus appears to view the arrangement as proof that Syria can function as a viable transport corridor, and President Ahmed al-Sharaa has taken that pitch on the road. At a gathering of European leaders in Cyprus in April, he described Syria as a secure link connecting Central Asia and the Gulf to the European continent. Furthermore, Sharaa’s invitations to the G7 Summit in France and the NATO Summit in Ankara are clear signals that Syria is viewed at as a potential new transit hub.

The economic case for Syria

Transit and handling fees from goods passing through the country represent a real economic opportunity for a state in desperate need of investment, with reconstruction costs estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Framing Syria as a strategic asset for the wider international community, rather than simply appealing for aid, is a way of attracting foreign capital.

It's worth noting that trucking oil overland is slower, costlier, and far lower in capacity than moving it by sea, so if the Strait of Hormuz reopens, maritime shipping will almost certainly remain the dominant route. The ambition isn't to replace Hormuz outright, but to give the region additional routes that reduce dependence on a single chokepoint. Even so, al-Sharaa's vision extends well beyond trucking oil. In Cyprus, he raised the idea of reviving the long-dormant Four Seas Project, which Syria expert Charles Lister has described as a plan for Syria to serve as a hub of commercial and logistics connectivity, linking the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and Persian Gulf through rail, road, and pipeline networks.

A long list of ambitious projects

That vision encompasses a wide range of potential infrastructure efforts. Several involve oil and gas pipelines: there have been recent moves to revive the Arab Gas Pipeline, which connects Egyptian gas to Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, while Iraq and Syria are studying whether to restore the Kirkuk-Baniyas Pipeline linking Iraqi oilfields to the Syrian coast. Separately, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan are exploring the restoration of the Ottoman-era Hejaz Railway, which could eventually become part of a broader rail corridor connecting Europe and the Gulf.

The obstacle is Syria's infrastructure remains badly damaged, and any serious progress will require enormous investment in the country's energy grid, railways, ports, border crossings, pipelines, and roads.

There are some encouraging signs on that front. Western governments have lifted most of the Assad-era sanctions that long stifled Syria's economy, and regional partners have already committed substantial sums to concrete projects. The Emirati firm DP World has signed an $800 million deal to upgrade Tartus port with the goal of making it a major hub in the eastern Mediterranean. Saudi Arabia, alongside investments in new airports, is putting close to a billion dollars into the Silk Link project, which aims to lay 4,500 kilometers of fiber-optic cable and position Syria as a digital corridor between Asia and Europe. Qatar and Turkey have separately signed multi-billion dollar agreements to stabilize Syria's power grid and modernize its energy infrastructure.

A long road ahead

In the near term, Syria has nowhere near the capacity to offset the loss of Hormuz as a global shipping route. And realizing the broader vision, of Syria reborn as a regional trade and logistics hub, will require sustained financial investment not just inside Syria but across its neighbors, along with consistent political backing and a degree of regional stability that remains far from assured.

Lastly, it seems that for Syria to be considered as a potential partner, political concessions will have to be made. One example is Donald Trump flirting with the idea, at the G7 Summit, of Syria having to "deal" with Hezbollah. An Ahmad el Sharaa visit to the White House is also in works with a final date yet to be agreed on. Other members investing heavily in Syria might be compelled to make similar demands of the new leader. Whatever Trump meant by it, it's a signal that Syria's reintegration into the global economic market will come at a price.