Minister: Iran, Syria to establish joint free zone

Rostam Qassemi added that the head of Iran’s free zones will pay a visit to Syria to discuss the joint free zone and ink the agreement.

Qassemi, who recently held talks with Syria’s economy minister in Damascus, said he discussed the increase in Iran’s production in Syria, including the manufacturing of tractors and agricultural machinery, the elimination of tariffs, increase in the two sides’ exports, and customs-related issues.

Elaborating on his latest meetings and talks in Syria, Qassemi said he exchanged views with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the war-hit country’s economic issues and current economic problems the two countries are faced with.

The two sides made good decisions in the meetings, said the minister, adding, “We agreed to run a joint committee. Of the many memorandums of understanding already signed by the two countries, some have not been implemented and we decided to set up a joint committee to address the problems and give the go-ahead to the MoUs.”

Shifting to his meeting with the Syrian foreign minister, Qassemi said they discussed diplomatic issues between the two countries.

He also said the two sides decided to set up a joint bank in Syria, adding Iranian and Syrian banks will have branches in the two countries.

He also elaborated on a meeting with his Syrian counterpart and said, “Transportation in different sectors is an important infrastructure that plays a major role in the country’s development. The country’s Civil Aviation Organization head would follow up the related executive issues.”