Damascus - Minister of Finance Mohammad al-Hussein and Turkish State Minister Hayati Yazici chaired on Tuesday a talks session at the Ministry of Finance focusing on cooperation in the fields of customs and managing border crossing points.
The two sides agreed to co-manage the Nasibin crossing point as an experiment which will be evaluated in order to establish joint centers in other crossing points if the experiment succeeds.
Minister al-Hussein pointed out to the depth and astrength of Syrian-Turkish relations and the important role of customs and crossing points in facilitating trade exchange and the movement of individuals and goods.
He also stressed the importance of increasing trade exchange between the two countries, which amounted to around USD 2 billion in 2009, noting that Syria is the portal of Turkish goods to Arab countries and that Turkey is the portal of Syrian goods to European markets.
For his part, State Minister Yazici said that Syrian-Turkish relations have reached high levels, and that the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council helped boost these relations, pointing out that the last session of the Council in Damascus resulted in signing 51 agreements, memos of understandings and work programs.
Yazici called for increasing trade exchange between Syria and Turkey to match their great capabilities, underlining the important role of businessmen and customs in this field.
Earlier, Assistant Vice-President Hassan Turkmani discussed Yazici and the accompanying delegation cooperation prospects between Syria and Turkey in customs and border crossings.
The meeting and the issues discussed came in the framework of carrying out the agreements signed during the high-level Syrian-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council meeting held last December in Damascus.
By H. Sabbagh / Manal Ismael / Zahra
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2010
