Tehran, Damascus stress pursuing implementation of bilateral agreements
Officials from Iran and Syria underlined following up on agreements reached between the two sides previously.
Following the meeting of Iranian and Syrian presidents in May, heads of the Iran-Syria Joint Economic Commission met in Tehran to follow up on the implementation of 16 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) inked between the two sides, reported Tasnim news agency.
Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development hosted a meeting in Tehran on Monday to follow up on the agreements reached between Iran and Syria during a visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi to Damascus on May 3, 2023.
The meeting was headed by Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and Syrian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer al-Khalil, according to the Iranian Road Ministry’s website.
During the meeting, the two sides expressed their satisfaction with the progress in joint agendas and projects since the last visit which Samer al-Khalil called a turning point in economic and trade ties and as a sign of determination in promoting bilateral cooperation.
Some agendas have been realized since May, which include the removal of trade tariffs, an increase of flights to reach 50,000 passengers per year, and the maintenance of Syrian aircraft by Iran.
Other agendas are underway including the Iran-Iraq-Syria Railway as an alternative to the land route for transit, repair and maintenance of existing rail routes, rail fleet provision, construction of a railway route from Iraq to Syria, a trilateral agreement between Iran, Iraq, and Syria for truck transit in the form of a consortium, electricity, water provision, free trade agreement, custom and industrial cooperation, banking, insurance as well as greater air and seaport cooperation.
Meanwhile, in another meeting held between Al-Khalil and Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology (ICT) Issa Zarepour in Tehran on Monday, the two sides explored avenues for the expansion of bilateral relations in the field of ICT.
During the meeting, the two ministers mulled over the agreements reached between the two countries in the field of joint cooperation in the ICT sector, emphasizing the implementation of a memorandum of understanding inked between the ICT ministers of the two countries.
Increasing cooperation between Tehran and Damascus in the fields of e-government and space industry were among the other topics discussed between the two sides.