French cheese maker Fromageries Bel  has inaugurated a production plant in Damasacus – the first, direct  French investment in Syria outside of the oil sector.

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A production licence was granted to Bel within the framework of new investment legislation in Syria.


With a budget of €13m, the Bel-Syria plant will produce around 5,000 tonnes of cheese annually and employ 350 staff. It represents the first Bel plant to be built abroad in 40 years.


The plant was inaugurated in the presence of the Syrian economic affairs minister, France’s ambassador to Syria and Bel’s president and CEO, Gérard Boivin.


Fromageries Bel’s brands include Babybel and The Laughing Cow.

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