Syria’s Arab Organization for Standardization and Metrology took part, for the first time in the country’s history, in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) annual meeting for 2025, held in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, from October 6 to 10. The participation reflects Syrian institutions’ bid to return to international platforms after years of isolation.
This has raised questions about how far Syria can draw on Rwanda’s experience in reconstruction and institution-building. Rwanda emerged from a genocidal war to become a notable development case in Africa, while Syria has endured a prolonged, complex conflict. Despite clear political and social differences, comparisons naturally surface when discussing reconstruction, investing in human capital, and building institutions capable of driving development.
Parallels and differences
Yasser Aloui, Director General of the Syrian Arab Organization for Standardization and Metrology, said there are obvious similarities between the Syrian and Rwandan experiences: both suffered extensive infrastructure destruction, economic decline, and the loss of skilled human capital, all of which pose major challenges to rebuilding.
He added that each country needed long-term national planning that links economic with social reform.
Aloui noted, however, that the Syrian crisis is more complex due to its duration, the number of actors involved, and its cross-sector impact. Rwanda, by contrast, was able within a relatively short period to establish a stable, centralized administration that restored trust in institutions, while Syria still needs greater unification and stability to implement economic plans effectively.
Qasim Abu Dust, an assistant professor of international economics at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Damascus, argued that Rwanda’s decisive success factor was achieving political and security stability, which paved the way for economic development. The absence of such stability in Syria, he said, continues to obstruct any comprehensive reform approach.
Can Rwanda be a template for Syria?
According to Aloui, Rwanda offers an inspiring model in terms of clarity of vision and planning, but wholesale transplanting is impossible. Any borrowing must be carefully adapted to Syria’s institutional and economic realities, beginning with strong institutions capable of executing development plans effectively.
Abu Dust highlighted another Rwandan lesson: empowering local and community initiatives. He pointed to the Gacaca courts Rwanda created to advance reconciliation and accountability after the war, giving communities a direct role in transitional justice.
Green economy and rural development
Aloui stressed that the “green economy” offers Syria a realistic opportunity to adopt a new development paradigm built around empowering rural communities. He said he met Rwanda’s environment minister, Bernadette Arakwiye, on the sidelines of the conference to exchange views on how national standards can bolster a green economy and environmental protection.
Syria’s diverse natural resources, he said, could underpin programs for sustainable agriculture and small-scale solar projects, alongside national standards for eco-friendly products to ensure quality and facilitate market access.
Abu Dust concurred that rural development must be central to any economic revival. Addressing the marginalization of rural Syria and ensuring meaningful representation in decision-making are indispensable steps, he said. He called for balanced policies to develop agriculture, provide affordable finance and modern technologies, invest in human capital, improve education and health in rural areas, and empower women, as Rwanda did by setting high benchmarks for women’s representation in state institutions.
Structural obstacles to importing Rwanda’s experience
Aloui listed structural obstacles that could hinder replicating Rwanda’s model in Syria: administrative and political fragmentation, widespread infrastructure damage, shortages of national talent due to war and migration, economic sanctions, and a weak legal and institutional environment.
Overcoming these hurdles, he argued, requires a unified national vision and political will capable of steering the reconstruction process.
Abu Dust added that the lack of security stability, persistent administrative corruption, and the absence of an enabling legislative environment are fundamental barriers to any genuine reform. “Stability and national reconciliation are the first conditions before any development plan,” he said.
Prospects for Syrian-Rwandan cooperation
Aloui sees scope for cooperation in standards and quality, upgrading laboratory and accreditation infrastructure, and drawing on Rwanda’s experience in green growth and sustainable agriculture, in addition to bolstering local development through community participation in resource management.
Abu Dust proposed broadening cooperation to include security and economic agreements, such as combating organized crime, exchanges in training and expertise, linking air and rail transport networks, and promoting investment through agreements that provide incentives and guarantees for foreign capital.
For Aloui, building effective national quality standards is an essential entry point for integrating Syria’s economy into regional and international markets. Abu Dust underscored that Rwanda’s biggest lesson is that national reconciliation and empowering local communities are the two pillars for rising from the rubble.
Both experts agree Syria has the ingredients to benefit from Rwanda’s experience, but success ultimately depends on achieving political stability, rebuilding trust in institutions, and articulating a unified national development vision.
World Bank: Security Challenges Hamper Syria’s Economic Growth
Syria on Rwanda’s path? Emulating a model that requires stability and social inclusion Enab Baladi.
Hence then, the article about syria on rwanda s path emulating a model that requires stability and social inclusion was published today ( ) and is available on ُEnabbaladi ( Syria ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Syria on Rwanda’s path? Emulating a model that requires stability and social inclusion )
Also on site :