Tehran, Iran, May 19
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
Iran and Syria have signed an economic cooperation document under which Tehran will help reconstruct the violence-torn Arab country.
The agreement was signed in Damascus on May 18 during a ceremony attended by Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi and Syria’s Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer al-Khalil.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) will open a new chapter in ties between Tehran and Damascus in the fields of economy and culture, IRNA news agency reported.
The document covers a range of issues, including transportation, industry, banking cooperation and reconstruction of Syria.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Akhoundi travelled to Syria on May 17 to explore ways to enhance economic ties between the two countries.
“After seven years of struggling with a crisis and war, Syria has entered a new phase and Iran will play an influential role in the country's reconstruction era,” he said in a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis upon his arrival to Damascus.
Tehran has already shown interest in helping Syria rebuild its roads, airports, power stations and ports.
Iranian firms are already involved in a series of electricity projects worth $660 million in Syria.
Iran aims to export electricity to Syria and create the biggest power network in the Muslim world by hooking up Iran’s national grid with those of Iraq and Lebanon.
The Syrian economy is weighed down by divisions and illegal trade networks. But with a return to stability in government-held areas, GDP decline has slowed down.
Syria’s GDP contracted last year by just 4 percent year-on-year, compared with a 36.5 percent year on year decline in 2013.
The consolidation of territories held by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops in the western parts of the country—where about two-thirds of the remaining Syrian population reside—has contributed to the stabilization of its economic sectors.
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