The Syrian Atomic Energy Commission (SAEC) was established in 1976 and began its institutional activities since 1979. SAEC is a governmental agency responsible for atomic energy affairs and its applications in peaceful areas. It works on laying the guidelines and rules governing the safe use radioistopes and nuclear materials in the Syrian territories. AECS has an overrsight of the national regulatory authority entrusted with the tasks of monitoring all practices involving radiological and nuclear materials in the country. AECS also keeps track of monitored imports and exports of the country in the border outlets in order to ensure that they are free from radiation.

The AECS includes a group of basic and applied scientific departments in addition to scientific offices, administrative directorates and advisory committees. Since its establishment, AECS has endeavored to set up laboratories and facilities necessary to conduct basic and applied research in the peaceful field. It has, also, seeked to qualify technical and scientific personnel and trainees in various basic and applied scientific branches, thus becoming a distinguished technical service-provider center in the country on multiple fronts.

AES cooperates with universities and various research centers affiliated with ministries and public authorities in carrying out research, studies and experiments. It is a part to many Arab and regional organizations cooperation agreements and play a role in the exchange of scientific experiences. AECS is also working on conducting various chemical analyzes of samples belonging to different international and local bodies. With that respect, AECS issues on a yearly basis, a comprehensive guide on services it offers covering; measurtements, analyses, calibrations, among other services.

Since its establishment, AECS has been keen on ensuring the quality of the services it offers, and has worked to establish national seminars within the framework of specialized programs to assess the quality of analyzes in country laboratories.

AECS sought to ensure the quality of the scientific work it sponsored, as is clearly reflected in the acceptance of hundreds of scientific papers for publication in prestigious international journals, which are well known for the scientific impact they enjoy in the global scientific community. AEC continues to play major role in disseminating nuclear knowledge by publishing results of its research and scientific work. AECS publishes, now only in electronic form, a periodical scientific journal in the Arabic language known as "the world of the atom" and it is concerned with translating specialized scientific articles and presenting the research papers of AECS researchers.

AECS pays special attention to training and qualification in the areas of peaceful uses of atomic energy in order to provide efficient national manpower capable of carrying out the burdens of scientific research and the safe use of nuclear technology in the country.

In 2010, AECS established the nuclear science and technology training center (NSTTC) with the aim of training national and Pan-arab personnel. NSTTC organizes a number of events and training activities in cooperation with international and regional organizations.

Finally, AECS works to provide R&D infrastructure essential for conducting scientific research. To that extent, AECS has sourced scientific equipments and tools and actively setting up laboratories and scientific facilities manned by trainned staff. AECS seeks to devote scientific research in the service of human development and channel reseach outcome to various agricultural, industrial, health and environmental fields among others.