Economic and political reforms in Arab homeland:conference

Syria's Minister of Higher Education Hani Murtada said Monday that the Conference of the 'Political and Economic Reforms in the Arab Homeland' is an expression of the Syrian leadership's openness to dialogue and reform.

In his address at the opening session of the Conference, Murtada underlined that this event is part of the government's plans for reforms, adding that it is a call for all to participate in discussing issues and requirements of the political and economic reforms in the country.

" Everybody, not only the government, is concerned in this process and has a role to performs it honestly," the Minister added.

The 3-day Conference is to discus challenges facing administrative and economic reforms, means of fighting corruption and the role of financial markets in the development process.

Later, Minister Murtada and a delegation representing the UN Development Program (UNDP) headed by Prof. Peter MacCater discussed prospects of cooperation in the scientific and administrative domains.

The Minister underscored the importance of cooperation with the UNDP to develop the curriculums at universities in the fields of computer, economy, informatics, banking and technology.

For his part, Prof. MacCater expressed the Program's readiness to cooperate with the Ministry to solve the problems facing the higher education sector in Syria.