Gaziantep Governor welcomes establishing Syrian Consulate in Turkey

Governor of Turkish Gaziantep Province, Mohammad Lutfullah Bilgin has welcomed decision of establishing a general Syrian consulate in the Turkish Gaziantep, the first for Syria in Turkey.

In a statement on Friday to SANA, Bilgin said "Opening the consulate will enhance ties of the developed relations between Syria and Turkey and will increase volume of the commercial exchange through increasing imports and exports." He added that all Turks in Gaziantep and in the south and east regions of Turkey voiced appreciation over opening this consulate that will facilitate process of getting visa and travel to Syria.

Bilgin stressed the remarkable development of the Syrian-Turkish relations particularly following President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Turkey early this year.

"President al-Assad's fruitful visit has positively influenced the course of bilateral relations in all fields." He said stressing the necessity to exert further efforts to push these relations forward on all levels.

He emphasized that both Syria and Turkey are considered among the important trade markets in the region and that development of the relations will affect positively on all cities in both Syria and Turkey.

Earlier, President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday issued decree No. 251 for the year 2004 on opening the first Syrian General Consulate in the Turkish city of Gaziantep.

The consulate will cover in its activities all lands of the provinces of the south and east Turkey and is linked to the Syrian embassy in Ankara.

Turkey has two consulates in Syria, in Aleppo and Lattakia. One of them is honorary.