Syrian interests office to be opened in Baghdad on February 20
Syria-Iraq, Politics, 2/9/2001

Diplomatic Sources told the London-based al-Hayat daily issued on Thursday that the Syrian foreign ministry decided to open an officer for supervising the Syrian interests in Baghdad after 20 years from closing the Syrian embassy there as a result of intensified relations between Baghdad and Damascus in 1980.

Meantime, Syrian official sources in Damascus announced on Wednesday that the Cabinet approved the " executive program to establish a free trade area between Syria and Iraq," which aims at liberalizing trade exchange between the two countries through new formula that comply with the nature of the new economic policies on the national and international arenas in the context of the Arab league charter, the Arab economic unity agreement and the agreement on the common Arab market.

This Syrian step also comes in the context of strengthening relations between the two states after the launching of rapprochement in May 1997.

The Diplomatic sources explained that the Syrian interests office will include three diplomats led by Hassan Tawab, the chairman of the cultural department at the foreign ministry.

Iraq, on the other hand, had opened an interest serving office in Damascus by the beginning of 1999 after the Syrian foreign minister Farouk al-Shara and the Iraqi foreign minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf in February 1999 agreed to exchange the opening of two interests offices in the Algerian embassies in Damascus and Baghdad. It is, however, expected to open shortly an airline between Damascus and Baghdad airports.

Previous Stories:
  Iraq approved the free trade agreement with Syria   (2/2/2001)
  Syrian source denies Qusey Saddam Hussein's visit to Syria   (1/31/2001)

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