by Hummam Sheikh Ali

DAMASCUS, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- As the tide of the more than seven-year-long war in Syria has turned in favor of the Syrian army, government officials have started prioritizing the reconstruction process as the new phase in the country after all the achieved military victories.

The topic of the reconstruction process has been recently making the rounds on the news as well in the statements made by the Syrian officials and their counterparts in "friendly countries" such as in Iran and Russia.

Bringing up the issue of the reconstruction comes as the Syrian government forces, with the help of the Iranian and Russian allies, have succeeded to recapturing large swathes of the country and are about to launch one last big battle against the last major rebel stronghold in Idlib province in northwestern Syria.

It seems like this topic will be mentioned more frequently in the coming days and months as after the battles settle, Syria will be a magnet for all the companies that want to invest in the reconstruction process in the country.

Last month, the United Nations announced that the seven year war in Syria implied a destruction of nearly 400 billion U.S. dollars, which means that companies from around the world will show up to do business in Syria.

The Syrian government officials have been clear about granting opportunities to the "friendly countries," basically those who have stood by the Syrian government side during the crisis, to invest in the reconstitution of Syria, where large swathes of areas are in ruins.

On Thursday, the 60th Damascus International Fair kicked off in the Syrian capital Damascus, with the participation of 48 foreign countries and a "large number" of local and foreign companies.

The fair is considered as the Syrian economy's window to the world.

Several government officials have attended the opening ceremony of the trade fair and underscored the efforts exerted to bring back the Syrian economy as strong as it was ahead of the long-standing war.

Samer Khalil, Syria's minister of economy, told Xinhua and other media outlets that there are many recovering Syrian companies and newly-established ones taking part in the fair in addition to the foreign ones.

He said there are over 1,722 Syrian and foreign companies that are taking part in this fair on a space of over 93,000 sq meters in the Fairground.

"This indicates that many companies have started working again or recovering in addition to the establishment of new companies in the sectors of industry, agriculture, and services in Syria and this is also a sign that all these sectors have started to recover and have started the wheels of production once again," he said.

The minister, meanwhile, expressed optimism about the next phase for both the economy and the reconstruction process.

"The indicators of the Syrian economy are boding well and today we are on the threshold of a very important stage, which is the reconstruction phase in Syria," he said.

This stage, the minister continued "requires massive efforts and today we find more attention and desire by many friendly countries to have its companies participate in the fair and to get to know the investment opportunities in Syria."

He said that the foreign companies can benefit Syria with their experience on the financial and technical levels.

For his side, Abdullah al-Gharbi, Syria's internal trade minister, told Xinhua and other reporters that this time is the time of "economic victory" in Syria.

"We have started the process of the economic victory with the launching of workshops and factories. The companies and businessmen are looking to get contracts to import Syrian products or to export products to Syria," he said.

Al-Gharbi stressed that "this fair is a very big opportunity for foreign companies and businessmen to get together with the Syrian ones to discuss the development of the economic situation."

The minister said the reconstruction process tops the priority list of the participants in the trade fair in Damascus.

"Now the majority of the companies, participating in this fair, are specialized in the reconstruction process and everyone is looking for reconstruction contracts," he remarked.

Mamoun Hamdan, the Syrian minister of finance, told Xinhua and reporters that the Syrian exporters are exempted from paying taxes to the government to encourage the trade and exportation of Syrian products abroad.

In regard to the Western sanctions on Syria, the minister said the sanctions were unilaterally imposed and Syria has good relations with many countries around the world.

"The exports are exempted from taxes," Hamda said, adding that Syria has worked to overcome the unilateral Western sanctions through self-reliance and cooperation as well as trade exchange with friendly countries.