Information minister and the Greater Middle East project

Syria's Information Minister Ahmad al-Hassan underlined on Monday the necessity for confronting the so-called 'the Greater Middle East initiative" and the other ready-made and manufactured projects that "aim at driving us away from issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict and Iraq's occupation."

During his speech at the opening the dialogic symposium about the Greater Middle East project, al-Hassan stressed that Syria comprehends the nature of this critical stage and its dangers on the present and future.

Syria knows well that plots and schemes are being planned aim at diverting the Arab attention from nature of the conflict with enemy and its social, economic and culture problems resulting from this conflict.

" Arab are demanded to make a live and an active confrontation and to dedicate the material and intellectual capabilities to defend their present, future and just causes.'' Al-Hassan said.

He underlined "the importance of such Arab meetings in light of what the Arab Nation witnesses of events, threats, falsification of facts and system of propaganda."

Al-Hassan hailed "the efforts of supervisors on these meetings to unveil schemes that aim at driving us away from our important cause and hindering projects of development in our country."

The other delivered speeches underlined the importance of convening such meeting in Damascus in light of the critical and dangerous circumstances surrounding the Arab Nation.

They stressed the projects aims at devoting economic, social and human problems that inhabitants of this region are suffering from.

The symposium is organized by the Arab Center for the Strategic Studies.

Present at the opening were Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Committee for Western Asia (ESCWA) Mirvat Tellawi, Secretary General of the Arab Organization for the Human Rights, Mohammad Faeq, Director General of the Arab Center for Strategic Studies, Munir al-Hemsh and a number of intellectuals and researchers.