Al-Assad received Tunisian prime minister

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday received the Tunisian prime minister Muhammad al-Ghanoushe, currently in an official visit to Syria to preside his country's delegation to the meetings of the 4th session of the Syrian- Tunisian joint higher committee.

A Tunisian official source said that al-Ghanoushe conveyed to the Syrian president during the meeting a message of amity and appreciation from the Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Bin Ali, stating his care to continue developing cooperation relations between the two states.

The two sides reviewed the march of bilateral cooperation prospects of developing it in light of agreements submitted to the works of the joint fourth higher committee, as well as means of strengthening bridges of contacts and integration to cover all vital sectors between the two countries.

Identical sources indicated that Bin Ali intends to pay a visit to Syria before the end of the current month at the invitation he had received from the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his visit to Tunisia in April, 2001.