Assad welcomes stronger ties with Iran
Assad met Iran’s First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on Tuesday a day after the Iranian and his delegation signed 11 agreements with Syria’s Prime Minister Imad Khamis and his ministers.
Assad said it is important to intensify relations between Syria and Iran “to thwart efforts of those countries that continuously work to weaken the two countries, control their independent decisions, and break the will of their peoples,” state-run SANA news reported.
He accused “some Western countries” of waging an “economic war” against Syria and Iran.
After eight years of war, Damascus is looking to come out of the diplomatic cold. It’s an uphill battle, but not the impossible feat he had faced when Western nations backed the opposition forces who rose up against his rule.
Meanwhile, the United States is rallying global support for its diplomatic and economic freeze of Iran.
On Monday, Jahangiri and Khamis and their delegations signed 11 agreements to enhance economic, trade, and cultural ties.
The 11 documents inked, as detailed by SANA, address long-term strategic economic cooperation, railways, public works and construction, promoting Iranian investments, geomatics, and cinema. Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade.
The two sides also agreed to exchange information regarding money laundering and terror financing and committed to ongoing meetings of a high joint committee.
They also signed three-year agreements on cultural and education cooperation.
These agreements “embody the deep-rooted relations binding the two brotherly peoples and conveys a message to the world on the reality of the distinguished relations between them,” said Khamis.
Jahangiri and Khamis attended on Tuesday a Syrian-Iranian Business Forum where they encouraged the development of private sector ties and Iranian investment in the reconstruction of Syria.
