Belarus, Syria to keep working on free trade regime

MINSK, 28 July (BelTA) – Belarus and Syria will keep working on launching a free trade regime between the two countries and promoting goods and services of the other country on their national markets. This statement is inscribed in the joint declaration of the presidents of Belarus and Syria, BelTA learnt from the presidential press service.

Belarus welcomes Syria’s intentions to establish a free trade zone between Syria and the Customs Union member states of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. The parties confirmed the high priority of joint investment projects in machine building and pledged to deepen cooperation in agriculture, housing construction, and petroleum chemistry and provide assistance to the Belarus-Syria Business Cooperation Council.

Belarus and Syria confirmed their interest in boosting the trade and economic cooperation, inter-parliamentary links, and cooperation in security, science and technologies, transport, power engineering, education, healthcare, culture, tourism, sport and contacts between public and political organizations. The countries expressed determination to create favorable conditions for long-term cooperation to the advantages of the peoples of Belarus and Syria.

The sides pointed out to the progress in improving the legal framework of Belarus-Syria relations. The countries welcomed the vigorous development of direct mutually beneficial contacts between the economic entities of the two countries.

Belarus and Syria agreed to encourage joint research and cooperation, in particular, in information technologies, higher education, exchange of academics, specialists and students, links between universities.

Belarus praised an initiative to establish strategic cooperation among Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan and said it would like to use the advantages of this cooperation to strengthen relations with these countries on the bilateral and multilateral basis. The parties also agreed to promote the bilateral cooperation in security and defense, declared their commitment to the fight against any forms of terrorism as one of the most serious threats to peace, stability and security.