Syria

Business Profile

Business: 

Formal suits are necessary for business. Business people generally speak English and French. Appointments are necessary and visiting cards are widely used. A list of notarized translators is available. Office hours: Sat-Thurs 0830-1430. All government offices, banks and Muslim firms close Friday and remain open Sunday; Christian firms are generally open Friday and closed Sunday. During the month of Ramadan, government offices start work one hour later than usual.

Commercial Information: 

The following organizations can offer advice: 

Damascus Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 1040, 126 rue Mou’awiah, Damascus (tel: (11) 211 339; fax: (11) 222 5874; e-mail: dcc@net.sy; website: www.dcc-sy.com); or
Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, PO Box 5909, rue Mousa Ben Nousair, Damascus (tel: (11) 331 1504; fax: (11) 331 1127; e-mail: ritsec@schamb.com.eg).

Conferences/Conventions: 

Hotels with conference facilities can be found in Damascus (The Sheraton, Cham Palace, Omayyad and Ebla-Cham), in Aleppo (Shahba-Cham), in Latakia (the Cote d’Azure) and in Hama (Apamee-Cham).