Syria & Iran Sign MoUs for Long-Term Cooperation

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his visiting Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi signed a number of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for "long-term and comprehensive cooperation" in various fields, state media reported. Raisi has become the first Iranian President to visit Syria after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. The MOUs cover cooperation in the fields of oil, communications, civil aviation, railways, and agriculture, among others, reports Xinhua news agency. Following the signing of the MOUs, Assad was quoted as saying that the talks with Raisi focused largely on economic issues. He noted that the projects under discussion would give the bilateral relations a strong boost by setting up mechanisms for trade exchange and investment to mitigate the impact of the Western sanctions. He pointed out that both countries would "benefit from the change in the economic map of the world and the gradual shift of balance towards the East, which would liberate international economies from the domination of the West and, as a result, the blockade (Western nations' economic sanctions) would gradually lose its effects". On his part, Raisi said he and Assad discussed the development of bilateral relations in all domains, stressing that "we are determined to develop the relations with all regional countries". On Wednesday, an official reception ceremony was held upon the arrival of Raisi and his ministerial delegation at the al-Sha'ab presidential palace in Damascus. Raisi lauded Syria's victory in emerging from a 12-year conflict. "Syria's government and people have gone through tremendous hardships, and today we can say that you have weathered and overcome all these problems and achieved victory despite the threats and sanctions imposed against you," Raisi told Assad at the palace. During the two-day official visit, the Iranian President will hold extensive political and economic talks with Assad. Raisi is being accompanied by a delegation which includes Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Defence Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and other senior officials.

Also, Iran and Syria reached an agreement to set up a joint bank and an insurance company during a historic visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Damascus. Launching a joint bank and an insurance company as well as the annual dispatching of 50,000 pilgrims to Damascus are part of a cooperation document inked between senior officials of the two countries on Wednesday. Head of the Iran-Syria Joint Commission of Economic Cooperation Mehrdad Bazrpash said the Comprehensive Program of Strategic and Long-Term Cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syrian Arab Republic and 14 other cooperation documents were inked by the presidents and high-ranking officials of the two countries. He said the signing of 15 cooperation documents between Iran and Syria which is unprecedented, adding that they would facilitate the economic activities between the two sides' businesspersons. Based on one of the cooperation agreements, 50,000 Iranian pilgrims will annually travel to Syria for visiting the holy places in the country, including the holy Shrine of Hazrat Zeynab (SA) and Hazrat Roghayeh (SA). Regarding the establishment of a joint bank and an insurance company between Iran and Syria, Bazrpash stated, “In a joint meeting held in the presence of Iranian Minister of Economy Seyed Ehsan Khandouzi, the two sides agreed to launch a joint bank and an insurance company for boosting economic activities between the two countries.”

Earlier, the spokesman for the Trade Promotion Commission of Iran’s Chamber of Industry, Mine and Trade had said that Iran's exports to Syria increased by 11.4% during the year 1401 (March 2022-23). Ruhollah Latifi had made the remarks in relation to the Iranian president's visit to Syria, where he had also said, "The exports of Iranian goods to Syria have seen ups and downs in the last two decades and it can be divided into before and after start of the crisis of the country in 2011." "Before the Syrian crisis, for ten years, our non-oil exports to that country witnessed an upward trend, and during those ten years in total, US$2.476 billion worth of Iranian goods were exported to Syria, but after the beginning of the crisis in that country until last year for 11 years, the volume of our exports to Syria reached a total of US$1.881 billion," Latifi had claimed. "In addition to the war, the presence and occupation of foreign troops, the stopping and blocking of transit and transportation routes leading to Syria and the Coronavirus pandemic have played important roles in reducing those export figures during the last 11 years, which has increased again since the government of president Raisi assumed office," he had emphasized. Latifi further pointed out that the goods exported to Syria last year included food, dairy and agricultural products, medicines and medical equipment, different kinds of metals and steel products, motor oils and industrial oils, yarn and fabric, rubber, board, paper and cardboard, tile and ceramic etc. - MENAFN, Tasnim, Mehr