ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Syria on Monday revealed new banknotes as part of an ongoing economic reform in the country since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, with President Ahmed al-Sharaa saying the removal of zeros is a technical measure to ease transactions and not a signal of an improved economy.

The new currency has removed two zeros, according to the Central Bank, with Sharaa on Monday lauding it as “very delicate in transforming the monetary situation” in Syria, calling it a purely technical move and not a sign of a stronger economy.

“There are many concepts that must be clarified during the currency replacement phase, the first of which is that adjusting the zeros and removing two zeros from the old currency to the new currency does not mean improving the economy, but rather it is for ease of dealing with the currency,” he explained.

Sharaa urged people not to panic and rush to swap the old currency with the new one, as the government will replace it for them.

“We need a state of calm in exchanging the currency, and the Central Bank has clarified that this will be done according to a specific timetable,” he said.

Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh said on Thursday that the issuance of the new currency follows Decree No. 293 of 2025, describing it as a signal of the beginning of a new economic and monetary stage.

In a statement published on the Central Bank’s website, Husarieh said the decree grants the bank the authority to set the timelines and locations for exchanging old currency, ensuring proper implementation and smooth procedures.

The Syrian pound has lost more than 99 percent of its value since 2011, with the exchange rate currently around 11,000 pounds to the US dollar, compared with about 50 pounds per dollar before the beginning of the country's lengthy civil war.

The announcement of the new banknotes came one week after US President Donald Trump signed legislation officially repealing the Caesar Act sanctions, which had been imposed on Syria since 2019 during the rule of the deposed Baathist regime under Bashar al-Assad.

The former Assad regime was toppled in December last year by a group of rebels spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was led by now President Sharaa. Since then, international countries have lifted sanctions on Damascus to help the country recover from decades of Baathist rule.

On Thursday, Husrieh said lifting the sanctions would open important opportunities for the country, including the possibility of obtaining a sovereign credit rating, and would remove a major legal barrier to Syria’s reintegration into the international financial system.