Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad affirmed on Wednesday the importance of Syrian-Iranian cooperation in the field of environment.
The remarks came during President Ahmadinejad's meeting with Syrian State Minister for Environmental Affairs Kawkab al-Sabah al-Dayeh and the accompanying delegation participating in a regional meeting for limiting the effects of dust storms, desertification and aridity held in Tehran.
During the regional meeting, Minister al-Dayeh stressed Syria's deep commitment to protecting the environment, underlining the importance of regional cooperation in the fields of early warning, limiting negative climatic phenomena, and combating desertification and dust storms.
She noted that Syria included the national plan for combating desertification in the 11th five-year plan, reviewing her Ministry's work and future directives and the Syrian government's efforts to improve the state of Syria's environment.
Al-Dayeh underscored Syria's interest in combating the effects of climate changes, saying that Syria supports regional cooperation in this regard.
Later, al-Dayeh held a joint press conference with her Iraqi, Iranian, Turkish and Qatari counterparts during which she reviewed Syria's viewpoint towards combating desertification, stressing the importance of regional cooperation.
The countries participating in the meeting signed a cooperation agreement on establishing a regional center to follow up on the issue of dust storms and sandstorms, in addition to establishing a center for monitoring air quality.
During her visit, Minister al-Dayeh discussed with Iranian Vice President for Environmental Protection Mohammad-Javad Mohammadizadeh and Iranian Minister of Housing and Development Ali Nikzad bilateral cooperation in environmental fields.
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2010
