Al-Assad confers with Junblat, Ramadan

President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday evening at the Damascus al-Shaab palace received the Iraqi vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan.

On the Syrian side the meeting was attended by the prime minister Muhammad Mustafa Miro and the minister of the economy and foreign trade Muhammad al-Imadi. The Iraqi side was attended by the minister of economy and foreign trade Muhammad Mahdi Saleh, the minister of transport and communications Ahmad Murtada and the chairman of the planning commission Hassan Abdul Menem Khattab, the foreign ministry acting secretary and the chairman of the Iraqi interests office in Damascus Muhammad Rifaat al-Ani.

Talks dealt with results of works of the Syrian- Iraqi joint higher committee and trade and economic agreements recently signed in Baghdad and the prospects of economic cooperation between the two sides for the benefits of the two peoples Ramadan arrived in Damascus earlier in the day and was welcomed at the Damascus airport by Premier Miro, several cabinet ministers and Rifaat al-Ani.

On Tuesday afternoon, the President received the chairman of the Lebanese socialist progressive party Walid Junblat and member of Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri. Discussions dealt with Lebanese issues and challenges facing the two sisterly countries, Syria and Lebanon.