Second round of the Syrian- American dialogue close door political, economic sessions

The second round of non official dialogue between Syria and the USA started yesterday in Damascus with the participation of politicians, businessmen and experts representing the two sides.

This close- door dialogue which lasts for three days aims at eliminating differences between Syria and the USA in political issues that were the source of tension in the relations between the two countries.

This current second round of negotiations is expected to concentrate on issues similar to that debated during the first round which dealt with terrorism and the differences in identifying it; the Middle East peace process and the overwhelming Iraqi issue. The dialogue is also concentrating on trade and cultural relations between the two sides especially in the field of the media.

The Syrian side to the meetings of the two countries is headed by the Syrian deputy foreign minister and Syria's former ambassador to the USA Walid al-Mu'allim while the American side is chaired by the director of the Baker Institute for public policies Edward Djerjian.

An important figure in the American delegation is the Republican Senator Arlen Specter who was received by the Syrian President bashar al-Assad on Sunday.

The number of the participating figures for every side ranges between 15 to 20 political and academic figures.

Despite the fact that the level of the American delegation is lower in number than in 2002, however, several og the same names are participating in the current session.

The first round of the American- Syrian dialogue was held by the end of May, 2002 at Houston University in Texas under the patronage of James Baker Institute for public politics.