After 47 years, the United States removed Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, an action aimed at removing obstacles for foreign investment and the country’s re-integration into the global economy.

With Syria being taken off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, only three countries—Iran, North Korea, and Cuba—are currently on the list.

Marko Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, said the action, carried out on Monday and first raised last July, would provide Syria with “a path toward prosperity.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said: “Today’s action will help attract more investment in Syria so that political and economic stability can be strengthened.”

The Trump administration has welcomed Ahmad al-Sharaa, the new president of Syria; a person who previously was a militant and for whom the U.S. had once set a reward for his arrest due to his leadership of one of al-Qaeda’s branches.

Last year, his Islamist group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and the name Ahmad al-Sharaa were removed from the list of terrorist groups.

📷Syrian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images