TEHRAN, Jan 14, (Asia Free Press): Rostam Qasemi, Iran’s Road and Urban Development Minister, who is on his official visit to Syria said, the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a joint working bank which boosting economic ties, according to state-run IRNA.
Rostam said that he had met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, discussing Syria’s economy and the problems and hindrances ahead of Iran-Syria economic ties.
Tehran and Damascus agreed to establish a joint committee to investigate why some of the many MoUs signed between Iran and Syria have failed to be implemented, Rostam said while added, now it is a time to implement MoUs to boost further bilateral relations.
The minister also said that he had a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, where they have agreed to launch a joint bank in Syria and Iranian and Syrian banks open agencies in both countries.
Rostam also disclosed that he and his Syrian counterpart had decided that the top aviation officials of Iran and Syria meet to examine executive issues in air transport.
In a separate meeting with the Syrian economy minister, Rostam said that it was decided that the head of Iran’s Free Zones High Council visited Syrian to explore establishing a joint free zone and sign agreements in this regard.
The Iranian minister said that other issues such as producing Iranian goods in Syria, including tractors and agricultural machinery, removing tariffs, increasing exports, and customs-related issues, were also discussed in his meetings with Syrian officials.
The end of the war in Syria is the beginning of a new era of economic ties between Tehran and Damascus; he added, especially since Iran and Syria have been standing beside each other during the years of war against international terrorism.