Iran, Syria to sign free trade pact

Iran will sign a free trade pact with Syria to boost bilateral trade exchanges, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Baqeri was quoted as saying in the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday that the completion of a free trade agreement between the two countries had been in the final stage.

"Hopefully, the two nations will witness a boost in their bilateral exchanges following the signing of the free trade agreement," Baqeri said.

Iran is implementing various economic projects worth about 700 million US dollars in Syria, and Iran-Syria economic cooperation is expected to increase to 3 billion dollars in the next few years, he added.

Iran and Syria, both under US-led economic sanctions, are accused by Washington of sponsoring terrorists.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri in February called on the two sides to form a united front to confront economic sanctions, and Iranian media have branded Syria as a strategic ally.

Source: Xinhua