Syria: civil society committees to reorganize themselves

The Syrian economic sciences society announced on Friday it will hold its 14th session next Tuesday, stressing that what is applicable on intellectual and political forums is not applicable on it as an economic society whose seminars are limited to economic topics.

Former Syrian higher education minister Kamal Shara who is also the chairman of the economic sciences committee told reporters that next Tuesday's meeting will be attended by a vast Lebanese participation.

Meantime, the spokesman for what is called the "civil society committees" Aref Dalila said that the committee will re-organize themselves after the counter campaign launched by the Syrian authorities against it and will resort to the Tuesday's forum and to the cultural and press centers for promoting their ideas.

Sharaf said that Tuesday ' s seminar will deal with the question of social and economic development in Syria.

However, this session witnesses a vast Lebanese participation with the aim of " economic and intellectual follow up" and to know " more than a unilateral view point," especially as the Lebanese presence will be academics who closely know the economic conditions in Syria.

Sharaf added that the aim of the current session is to " give a way for dialogue, and therefore we have chosen the most sensitive topics including banking and monetary, financial and taxation topics, administrative reforms, industrial issues and policies to encourage investment."

He continued that the main title for this session concentrates on " social and economic development in Syria and will be opened by the minister of planning Dr. Issam al-Zaem who will talk about the requirements of economic reforms, with the participation of the former Lebanese finance minister George Qaram."

Sharaf said that the "seminar is open for all until late hour of Tuesday night and called it " the evening of the poor."