MTN Group wraps up tough times in Syria

Samuel Mungadze
By Samuel Mungadze, Africa editor
Johannesburg, 04 Mar 2026
MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita has met with Syrian minister of communications and information technology, Abdulsalam Haykal, on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita has met with Syrian minister of communications and information technology, Abdulsalam Haykal, on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

MTN Group's agony of exiting Syria is finally coming to an end as president and CEO Ralph Mupita met with Syrian minister of communications and information technology, Abdulsalam Haykal, on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Africa's largest telecom provider announced today that the two parties had reached an agreement to regularise MTN's disengagement from Syria, with both parties intending to implement the deal as soon as possible.

The latest development of MTN's harmonious departure from Syria comes just over four years after the company first declared plans to exit the Middle East and focus on its growing operations on the continent.

MTN Group announced its decision to exit the MTN operation in Syria a while ago, citing regulatory measures and demands that made operating in the country impossible.

MTN had been placed under curatorship after the telco was accused of mismanagement and violating its operating licence conditions by Syria Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority, allegations denied by the mobile network operator.

Today, MTN announced: "The two parties formalised an agreement to regularise MTN’s exit from Syria, with the intention that both sides implement the agreement imminently."

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