Khatami arrives today in Damascus, seven agreements signed
Syria-Iran, Politics, 5/13/1999

Iranian President Muhammad Khatami arrives today in Damascus to visit Syria for two days in the course of his tour which will also cover Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Spokesman for the Syrian president, Jubran Koreah, said the meeting between President Hafez al-Assad and Khatami will deal with "bilateral relations, Arab - Iranian relations, the situation in the world and the region and issues of concern to the Arabs and Muslims, especially the questions of Iraq and Palestine and the role of the Organization of the Islamic Conference."

The Iranian President is accompanied by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazil, Housing Minister Abdul Ali Zada, and Oil Minister Bejan Zanka.

The value of trade exchange between the two countries does not reflect the already developed political relations between the two countries. The economic attache' at the Iranian embassy in Damascus told journalists on Wednesday that the value of Syrian exports to Iran in the first nine months of 1998 did not exceed US $6,000 against some US $1.7 million in Iranian exports to Syria.

The Iranian ambassador in Damascus, Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, said that the value of trade exchange did not exceed during 1998 US $30 million.

The Syrian-Iranian joint committee meets today in Damascus to eliminate the final obstacles before signing agreements between the two sides. The two sides had signed a memorandum of understanding in which the Syrian side called upon the Iranian side to "ratify the agreement providing for encouraging and protecting investments, signed in February 1998," after it was ratified by Damascus.

In the field of oil, the memorandum said that the two sides agreed to "exchange expertise and cooperation in the areas of oil exploration and gas production and the participation of Iranian companies in tenders announced in Syria as well as taking part in developing the Banias and Homs oil refineries."

The memorandum also stated that the Iranian "Jihad Tawasou Seloha" company will establish some 10 cereal silos with a storage capacity of 100,000 tonnes of cereals. The Iranian side also showed readiness to take part in manufacturing Syrian trade ships.

It was decided that the two sides will sign the cultural executive program for the three forthcoming years and another agreement to develop scientific cooperation.

Meanwhile, SANA reported from Tehran that the Iranian daily "Keyhan al-Arabi" stressed the importance of President Khatami's visit to Syria. The paper added that the visit will have a positive impact on Syrian-Iranian and Arab - Iranian relationships.

The Iranian daily added that Syrian-Iranian relations have played a remarkable role in the region and this visit demonstrates the desire of the two countries to achieve positive action in the Arab region.

The Iranian daily added that the visit is in line with Iran's desire to back Syria in challenging Israeli threats and discussing political issues pertinent to the regional conditions.

The visit was also greatly highlighted by Syrian dailies issued on Thursday.

Previous Stories:
  Syrian-Iranian committee meets in Damascus   (5/12/1999)
  Al-Assad, Khatami are to discuss mediation between Tehran and Cairo   (5/10/1999)
  Damascus welcomes Khatami's tour of the region   (5/5/1999)

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