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Syria, Iraq Agree to Boost Relations, Expand Trade: Syrian PM
The Syrian prime minister said here on Monday that his visit to Iraq was "successful" and that the two countries have agreed to take steps aimed at enhancing bilateral relations and expand trade.
Mohammed Mustafa Miro made the remarks in an interview with Iraq's official INA news agency before wrapping up his three-day visit and left Baghdad for Syria. Miro is the first Syrian head of government to visit Baghdad in more than 20 years.
Miro said that he held "comprehensive" talks with Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan and that the two sides have reached agreements in various fields.
During the visit, Miro and Ramadan signed several agreements and protocols, including the Agreement for Economic, Trade, Technical, Cultural and Scientific Cooperation, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries' foreign ministries.
"(Syrian) President Bashar al-Assad has stressed the importance to promote the relations with Iraq on all levels and actively implement the agreements signed between both sides," Miro said.
Miro's visit is expected to further deepen the bilateral trade ties, as the trade volume between Iraq and Syria has increased to some 500 million U.S. dollars a year under the United Nations oil- for-food program.
The program is an exception to the economic sanctions the United Nations Security Council imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It allows Iraq to export oil and import food, medicine and other basic needs to offset the impact of the crippling sanctions.
Syria has become one of the largest trade partners of Iraq and Baghdad and Damascus have planned to double the trade volume to 1 billion dollars a year.
The diplomatic relations were severed when Syria sided with Iran in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, and the ties further deteriorated when Syria joined the U.S.-led multinational force to evict Iraqi troops out Kuwait in the Gulf War.
However, there has been a rapid rapprochement between the two sides since 1997 when they started to reopen their borders and resume economic cooperation.
Ramadan visited Damascus last January and signed the free trade agreement with Miro.
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