00:00Why does everyone want to be BFFs with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara right now?
00:04Still not sure why Macron didn't take his shades off.
00:06First off, in case you missed it, the country is coming out of 14 years of civil war.
00:10This means it first has to rebuild a state, which, turns out, is really pricey.
00:14The World Bank ballparks it at more than 200 billion dollars.
00:17Is this enough?
00:19You know what that means.
00:22Geoeconomics.
00:22Syria sits at a strategic crossroads between the Gulf, Turkey, Iraq, and the Mediterranean.
00:27And regional powers like the Gulf states are vying for influence through investment.
00:31Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others have already started backing reconstruction projects.
00:35Why?
00:36Well, Syria could be a new overland trade route for Gulf exports.
00:40Which is strategically pretty desirable, since the Strait of Hormuz is in pretty dire straits.
00:46So who else is in the mix?
00:48Turkey sees a great opportunity in Syria to expand its political influence across the region.
00:53But most importantly, addressing its concerns over Kurdish autonomy along its border.
00:59But let's bring it back to Macron for a sec.
01:01France and other EU countries have every interest in Syria's stability, since they don't want more refugees.
01:06Plus, they want to curb Iranian and Russian influence.
01:09We're in a new era now.
01:10The US took Syria off its terrorism list.
01:13The EU lifted almost all sanctions.
01:15And a bunch of countries have reopened embassies.
01:17We have witnessed a significant transformation in Ahmad al-Sharaa, from an ex-jihadist to a pragmatic and relatively moderate
01:27political figure.
01:28He also led a transformation in Syria, increasingly engaging with Western countries and regional powers,
01:34and also expressing interest in reaching a security arrangement with Israel.
01:39To spice things up, old pal Russia is back trying to cozy up.
01:43So stay tuned for Season 2.
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