Maysaa Sabrine becomes first woman to lead Syria’s central bank

Syria’s interim administration appointed Maysaa Sabrine to lead Syria’s central bank, marking a historic first for the country, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported on Monday.

Previously serving as deputy governor, Sabrine brings extensive experience to the role. She joined the central bank in October 2018 as director of the Government Commission and later led the office-based oversight division. Since December 2018, she has also represented the central bank on the board of the Damascus Securities Exchange.

Sabrine, who holds a master’s degree in accounting, is facing increased economic challenges, following reports of the country’s foreign currency reserves being dwindled to alarmingly low levels, with central bank dollar reserves estimated at approximately $200 million. Other estimates suggested reserves are only in the “hundreds of millions.”

Attribution: Xinhua