Syria's Al Assad appoints new oil minister in cabinet reshuffle

State-owned energy company chief Hassan Kaddour replaces Bassam Touma as he joins four others in taking up ministerial positions

Syria's President Bashar Al Assad's cabinet reshuffle comes amid harsh public criticism over rising prices and food shortages. Reuters

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has named five new ministers, including a Minister of Oil, in a cabinet reshuffle, according to state media.

Hassan Kaddour, general director of the Syrian Petroleum Company for the past two years, replaced Bassam Touma as Oil Minister, official news agency Sana reported on Wednesday.

Mr Al Assad named Mohsen Ali as Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Abdelqader Jokhdar as Industry Minister, Louay Al Munajjed as Minister of Social Affairs and Labour and Ahmed Bostachi as a State Minister.

The latest reshuffle comes amid harsh public criticism over rising prices and food shortages during Ramadan, when Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk.

It is the biggest since Mr Al Assad won another seven-year term in 2021 and only made a few changes to his government followed by the appointment of Ali Abbas as Defence Minister in April 2022.

The Syrian conflict has raged since 2011, killing hundreds of thousands, displacing millions and drawing in regional and world powers. However, fighting has cooled of late.

With the backing of Russia and Iran, the Assad government has recovered most of territory in Syria.

Turkish-backed opposition fighters still control areas along the border, where a small contingent of Turkish soldiers is still present.

Rebels also control a pocket in Syria's north-western Idlib province while Kurdish fighters backed by the US control an area near the Turkish border.

The conflict has cost the country much of its domestic oil production, especially with the north-eastern fields outside the government's control.

As a result, Syria has grown more dependent on Iranian oil shipments.

However, tightening sanctions on Iran, Syria and their allies, as well as a foreign currency crunch, have made it more difficult to secure enough supplies over the past year, industry experts say.

Syria hopes improved relations with oil-rich Arab Gulf nations, that once supported the armed Syrian opposition, will help to ease the economic crisis.

Last week, state Saudi television reported that the kingdom was in talks with Damascus to reopen its embassy in the war-torn nation for the first time in a decade.

Other countries in the region, including the UAE and Bahrain, have reopened their embassies in the Syrian capital in recent years.

Syria is recovering from a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on February 6, killing more than 48,000 in Turkey and about 6,000 in Syria, mostly in areas under the control of rebel groups.