Business culture in Syria

Syria has a history spanning thousands of years, with Damascus and Aleppo among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. As a crossroads of civilizations, Syria has a rich tapestry of cultural influences that are reflected in its business etiquette. Knowing and understanding the country’s business culture is important to successfully doing business in Syria.

Meetings and Greetings

Make appointments in advance. Try to be on time, but be aware that Syrians are not very punctual and may be late themselves.

When meeting, you are expected to greet everyone in the room individually, even if the group is large. Greet the host first, and then you can either greet people in order from oldest to youngest, or from left to right. Men shake hands. Good friends and family members usually kiss once on each cheek in more informal settings.

Physical contact between unrelated men and women is very rare and may be offensive to religious people. Shaking hands is the norm in more secular circles. It is best to let a woman extend her hand first. If the hand is not extended, it is polite for men to nod slightly and place their hand on their chest.

Allow small talk to take place before discussing business. Syrians tend to have very animated business meetings. Expect many interruptions and digressions from unrelated topics, as they often carry on several conversations at once when speaking in a group. Be patient and do not hesitate to interrupt to get your point across. They should not find this rude. To avoid being distracted or deflected from your proposal, sit next to the business person you are interested in and make your proposal directly to them.

Syrians often invite business associates to discuss business in restaurants or at home. In such cases, serious discussions begin with small talk and refreshments. Guests should wait for the host to indicate where they should sit and when to begin eating. Compliments on the food and thanking the host are important aspects of table etiquette.

Accepting even a small amount of food or engaging in small talk shows respect and trust. If you refuse food, the host will likely offer it at least twice more before accepting your refusal.

Business Cards

When handing over a business card, use only your right hand and make sure the card is facing the other person. When accepting a card, do not put it away immediately, but examine it carefully and place it on the table in front of you once everyone is seated.

Dress Code

A business suit is the accepted dress code for men. Conservative attire is acceptable for women. Skirts and dresses should always be knee-length, and blouses should cover the shoulders. Suits and trousers are not common.

Communication Features

Personal relationships play a huge role in Syrian business culture. Syrians prefer to work with people they know. For them, trust is the key to good business. They base their reputation in business on personal qualities rather than financial ability, and so will seek an honest commitment in their dealings with you. Their priority is to expand their network with people they can rely on, often building strong friendships with potential partners to do so.

With this in mind, they tend to want to know a lot about their business partners in order to build the trust and loyalty needed to support future business. You may find many of the questions asked to be too personal, detailed, or irrelevant. Try to be patient in all cases and provide answers for the sake of the business relationship. It would be most helpful to ask them similar questions in return. Syrians greatly appreciate it when their colleagues show interest in their personal lives.

Syrian partners or colleagues may expect you to grant them privileges based on your friendship and vice versa. This usually involves favors for their family or involves networking. Try to be flexible in accepting and providing these favors, as they will generously help you in return. If you have unintentionally offended your business partner, do not ignore the fact, as this will most likely jeopardize your relationship. If you are unsure what to do, it is a good idea to ask your management to apologize on your behalf.

Negotiation Practices

Syrians delegate all decisions to the senior person who has the most power in their company. This person bears all the responsibility and consequences on behalf of the company.

It may take days or weeks to receive a response regarding larger decisions. Time can be very flexible, so mention your company's time constraints to give them a deadline.

When discussing business, Syrians, especially Arab Syrians, do not always see the need to separate their emotional investment from the subject and may intrude their feelings into the professional context. Use logic to combat emotional arguments, but try not to be the typical "hard and cold" European.

In Syria, people prefer to negotiate and stick to contracts based on trust. It is important to understand and respect the power of verbal agreements in business. Syrians speak sincerely and tend to follow through on verbal promises.

In the Middle East, a flat out "no" can mean you want to end the relationship. A polite way to say "no" is to say something like, "I'll see what I can do," no matter how impossible the task may be. The best way to get around this rhetoric to find the underlying truth is to clarify the situation several times.

A Syrian may also respond with "Inshallah," which roughly translates to "If God wills/allows it to happen." It is a way of saying yes without making any promises, communicating, "I will try my best, but ultimately it is up to God to make it happen." So if you cannot achieve what you agreed to, it is not your fault or anyone else's, it is simply God's will (fate).

National and Religious Holidays

Doing business in Syria requires an understanding of the many holidays and observances that may affect your work schedule. These range from national public holidays to regional holidays, each deeply rooted in the country's rich cultural heritage and legal framework.

• January 1st - New Year's Day;
• March 8th - Revolution Day;
• March 21st - Mother's Day;
• April 17th - Evacuation Day (French troops);
• April-May - Orthodox and Catholic Easter;
• May 1 - Workers' Solidarity Day;
• May 6 - Day of the Fallen;
• October 6 - Anniversary of the October War of 1973;
• December 25 - Christmas.

The dates of important Muslim holidays - the beginning of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, etc. - are determined by the lunar calendar and are not tied to a specific time of year.