The new Syrian government has many issues to tackle at the same time, and recent actions have shown that it’s on the right path.
Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government held its first meeting on Monday after two dozen ministers were chosen in late March.
The transition government has been in the works since the Assad regime fell on December 8. Sharaa became the transitional president in late January, and he spent February and March establishing a series of new ministries.
Around a third of the ministers are linked to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the terror group Sharaa once commanded. The others come from a number of backgrounds and include one Christian woman, a Druze, a Kurd, and an Alawite.Syrian state media SANA said, “The first meeting of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was held Monday, April 7, 2025, chaired by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who gave a directive speech that defines priorities of the government work and the challenges that face various ministries.”The report added, “The president stressed the importance of integration in the work of the ministries in order to develop emergency plans that take into account the priority of the Syrian citizen in terms of revitalizing the economy in a way that would positively impact their daily needs and repair the massive damage caused by the former ousted regime to the country’s infrastructure.”Reconstruction is a major priority for the new government. Syrians are returning from across the country and abroad to damaged homes in areas destroyed during a decade and a half of civil war.
The right direction for Syria
The government currently does not control all of Syria. Turkey controls part of northern Syria, and the Syrian Democratic Forces control eastern Syria. The SDF is backed by the US, and SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi signed a deal with Sharaa in early March to integrate his forces into the new government within a year.SANA noted that “President Al-Sharaa also stressed the importance of the reconstruction file and the necessity of developing strategic plans to organize cities and towns, emphasizing the cultural and civilizational integration with urbanization.“The president stressed the principle of civil peace as a primary factor for the government action during the coming period and some related issues such as media discourse, which must be national, inclusive, enhance the national unity, and rise above all partitions as Syria belongs to all its citizens.”This is an important step in the right direction for Syria. The government is also seeking to rebuild a professional military and ensure that all arms in the country are in the hands of the state. This means getting rid of former militias and cracking down on gangs and other armed groups.The new government wants to “respond to promising opportunities in various sectors by building partnerships between the public and private sectors and implement plans to enhance domestic tourism, in light of the return of many citizens living abroad,” SANA noted.The government has to tackle many issues at the same time. This includes public works and housing, as well as dealing with internally displaced people. During the war, more than 10 million people were displaced, and more than five million ended up as refugees abroad.