New York, SANA- Officials will discuss major steps to restore support for Syria from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund at spring meetings next week, though sanctions remain a major obstacle to rebuilding the country, a U.N. official said on Friday.

Abdallah Dardari, assistant secretary-general for the U.N. Development Programme, told Reuters in Damascus that a roundtable on Syria hosted by the Saudi government and World Bank would take place on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the international financial bodies in Washington.

“It gives a signal to the rest of the world and to the people of Syria that you have these biggest financial institutions ready to support,” he said.

Reuters reported last week that Saudi Arabia plans to pay off around $15 million in Syrian arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for millions of dollars in possible grants for reconstruction and other economic support to Syria. Sources have since told Reuters that the Saudis made the payments.

Dardari told Reuters that pay-off would allow the World Bank to support Syria through its International Development Association which provides funds for low-income countries.

“This is a big ticket item for Syria to negotiate with the World Bank. There’s also the Special Drawing Rights at the IMF. Again, that’s a big ticket item, in addition to all the policy and technical assistance that the Bank and the Fund can provide Syria,” Dardari said.

Mazen Eyon