Dr. Nasser Saidi’s comments appeared in the Gulf News article titled “Syria’s collapse compounded by COVID-19“, published 16th July 2020.
Comments are posted below:
“Economic collapse in Lebanon lowers the demand for imports from Syria and leads to the firing and rising unemployment of Syrian workers in Lebanon,” said Nasser Saidi, a Lebanese economist and former minister. Speaking to Gulf News, he added: “This results in a decreased flow of remittances to Syria. The freezing of the deposits of Syrians (individuals and businesses) in Lebanese banks results in an inability to finance Syrian imports and trade through Lebanon.”
He added: “The financial, banking and fiscal crisis in Lebanon means increasing pressure in supplying/smuggling of fuel, wheat and other subsidised commodities into Syria.”

Dr. Nasser Saidi’s presentation titled  “Lebanon’s Economy: Staring into the Abyss“, was aired as a webinar to the Harvard University Alumni Association of Lebanon (HUAAL) and the Harvard Business Club in Lebanon on 24th April 2020.
Click below to access the webinar, including Q&A.