Al-Assad, Mahateer Muhammad outlined policies
Syria-Malaysia, Politics, 8/18/2003

Syria's President Bashar al -Assad gave a dinner banquet yesterday evening in honor of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahateer Muhammad.

Al-Assad delivered a speech during the banquet in which he expressed his hope that this important visit will lead to moving the relations between the two countries forward in all fields. "Syria expresses high appreciation over Malaysia's stances which support the Arab nation's issues," he said.

" The relations' progress between the two countries in the latest years have proved that there are wide domains of cooperation in cultural exchange, the grants and student exchange in the fields of information technology and communications," he added.

He stressed Syrian and Arab states' commitment to just and comprehensive peace based on the international resolutions and the "land for peace formula."

He said that Arab peace initiative in Beirut summit reflected the Arab Nation's readiness to achieve peace but Israel reacted by increasing its aggression on the Palestinian people, rejection the international resolutions and continuing building the racial separation wall.

Regarding the Iraqi question, President al-Assad called for ending the American occupation to Iraq in order to attain security and stability expressing high appreciation over Malaysia and the Islamic countries' stances vis-a-vis Iraq.

He called the UN to create a suitable environment in order to establish a new global order which maintains the security and stability in the world.

For his part, Mahateer Muhammad thanked President al-Assad over his warm welcome. He expressed his happiness and appreciation over his visit to Damascus and described Damascus as splendid and charm. "Syria is the cradle of civilization, she is not odd to Malaysians. Syria's history is written on the books of Islam and Prophet Muhammad's civilization and history," He added.

"One of the glorious eras of Syria's history is the Umayyad rule. During this era, the Islamic civilization has covered Europe, Asia, Africa and the rest of the world," he continued.

"Unfortunately, and after the attacks of 9-11 September in USA, some Islamic countries were attacked under the pretext of terrorism and the pretext of weapons of mass destruction," He added.

"Unfortunately, there is a movement towards the rule of force and dominance in the unilateral world which we are living in," he said. He called the Islamic and Arab countries to unify in this crucial situation and to attain the information and technology to confront these challenges.

He stressed that Syria and Malaysia are partners in defining the terrorism and distinguishing it from legitimate resistance. Terrorism should not be linked to a region or a group of people he said.

Regarding the peace in the region, Mahateer stressed the impossibility of achieving peace in the region without Syria and Lebanon calling for including the Golan Heights and Shebaa Farms to the roadmap peace plan in order to achieve permanent peace in the region.

The roadmap which was drawn by the US to solve the Palestinian cause failed due to the American war on Iraq, Mahateer added.

He asserted the good cooperation between Syria and Malaysia in the international circles particularly in the UN, Nonaligned Movement and the Islamic Conference Organization.

Regarding the bilateral relations, Mahateer said that his first visit to Syria will be a turning point in the relations between the two countries.

He also described his talks with the Syrian side as 'frank and fruitful' expressing appreciation over the exerted efforts to enhance these relations in the other various fields like culture, education and tourism. He said that the signed agreements reflect the desire to boost the bilateral cooperation on the governmental and the private sectors levels.

Previous Stories:
  Mahater Muhammad tomorrow in Damascus   (8/16/2003)
  Al Ahmar conveys al-Assad's greetings to Malaysian PM   (6/23/2003)
  Cooperation between Syrian Baath party, Malaysian Amnu Party   (6/20/2003)

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