Syria's views at the Euromed Summit in Barcelona
Syria-European Union, Politics, 11/29/2005

Here is what Syria's Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sahraa said at the Euromed Summit in Barcelona: It gives me great pleasure to convey to you the greetings of President Bashar al-Assad, and thank the King and Government of Spain, and this historic city, Barcelona for hosting this summit. We also express our appreciation for the thorough preparations for this summit and hope that it will arrive at constructive results.

Mr. President; this conference is convened to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Barcelona Declaration with its three-fold political, economic and cultural dimensions, and to assess whether or not we have made any tangible progress in realizing our common objective, namely, making the Mediterranean a zone of peace, security and stability.

The Barcelona Declaration remains the corner stone of our endeavors because it is an expression of our collective will and objectives. It is built on mutual respect and the preservation of our cultural and intellectual specificities while it seeks to build international peace and security and advance sustainable development.

The protracted Arab Israeli conflict, the continued occupation by Israel of the Arab territories in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, and the diminished prospects for peace continue to obstruct the Barcelona process. The Arab Peace initiative adopted by the Beirut Arab Summit in 2002 and confirmed in the Algiers Summit this year is the clear framework and commitment that should be pursued so that each party gets what rightfully belongs to it.

Syria's position towards peace and its terms of reference remains firm and credible. We look forward to our European partners showing real support in responding to the enforcement of the relevant United Nations resolutions to bring about Israel's complete withdrawal to the June 4 1967 borders, including the Syrian Golan, the Lebanese Shabaa farms and the establishment of the Palestinian state with Al-Quds al-Sharif its capital.

While stressing its commitment to international legitimacy and to international resolutions, Syria calls for the non-selective implementation of All such resolutions without discrimination among different protagonists. The Security Council adopted scores of resolutions that should have been carried out in accordance with the provisions of article 25 of the United Nations Charter. Our European partners should know that Syrians wonder whenever the United Nations and the international community are mentioned why some resolutions are enforced while others remain unimplemented.

The consolidation of the peace, security and stability calls for the realization of one of the most pivotal objectives of the Barcelona Declaration, namely ridding the Middle East region of all nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction.

Syria has vigorously contributed to combating terrorism by acceding to the relevant conventions, and vehemently condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We enacted the necessary laws to criminalize financing terrorism and punish its perpetrators. Success in confronting terrorism on the regional or international levels is contingent upon addressing its root causes and protecting the right of the peoples under foreign occupation to resistance.

Syria stepped up its efforts and expanded its occupation on issues that are germane to the region because it has a stake in contributing to the stability of the area. We took measures to control our borders with Iraq by making available the human and engineering resources we could afford.

However, we still lack the advanced technologies necessary to maximize the impact of our efforts. We have also taken steps to control entry points to Syria for young Arabs despite the adverse effects of such measures on the economy and tourism in the country.

Syria also contributed to Arab efforts to convene the Iraqi National Reconciliation Conference. It stressed the need to focus the efforts of the Iraqis on achieving complete independence through reconciliation among all Iraqi factions. Syria supports the political process currently underway in Iraq that should include all the Iraqi stakeholders. We are taken on building a unified Iraq in which Iraqis can determine Iraq's future free from foreign intervention. In this context, an agreement has been signed allowing to the Iraqi residents in Syria to exercise their right to vote in the coming election in Iraq. Syria condemns in the strongest terms targeting innocent Iraqi civilians, institutions and houses of worship and deems such targeting an anathema that cannot be mistaken for resistance of occupation of justified as such.

With regard to cooperating with the international investigation committee, Syria is committed to help establish the truth regarding the assassination crime. This serves the interests of the two countries, Syria and Lebanon as two independent neighboring countries and partners with infinite common interests.

Realizing the Barcelona objectives, namely prosperity for the Mediteranean requires taking steps to complete the establishment of a free trade zone, singing, and ratifying the bilateral partnership agreements with out undue delay. We hope that steps will be taken to finalize the signature of the European-Syrian Partnership Agreement in the coming months.

Syria undertook a series of steps for reform and modernization. We established ad-hoc committees entrusted with amending the publication laws, adopting a new law on political parties that institutionalizes political pluralism, reforming the judiciary and fighting corruption. Syria also adopted legislations to pursue a social market economy, namely developing the banking sector, facilitating the flow of goods, encouraging and streamlining procedures for foreign investments. In the educational field. Syria enacted legislations licensing the establishment of private universities and colleges in all disciplines, spread over different parts of the country, particularly in remote areas.

Syria shall vigorously pursue such measures in the coming months. We believe that this requires a substantial increase in the Mediterranean-European cooperation in all aspects of sustainable development, including the higher education, transfer of technology, and promotion of investments and establishing a zone of cooperation, peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean. (end of statement).

Previous Stories:
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