Raisi to Arnous: Iran and Syria have great capabilities to expand economic and trade cooperation  

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday met with Syria’s Prime Minister Hussein Arnous and the accompanying delegation. Talks dealt with bilateral cooperation and issues of common interest.

Raisi affirmed that the Syrian-Iranian relations are deep-rooted and strategic, pointing out that a wide range of agreements that have been reached during his visit to Syria and his meeting with President Bashar Al-Assad, were implemented. He reiterated the need to speed up the complete implementation of the agreements and memorandum of understandings reached between the two countries.

“Iran and Syria have great potentials to expand their economic and trade cooperation, clarifying that planning and following up by concerned parties from both sides will help reactivate these capabilities as soon as possible so as to reach the hoped-for results that serve the interests of the two countries.

Raisi affirmed that the reason behind the hostility of the United States and the Zionist entity towards Syria is the resistance of the Syrian leadership, government and people to the US and Israeli schemes and the victory over the terrorism they have supported. He said that he is confident that the just like the Syrian people, the Palestinian people will emerge victorious in the battlefield.

He clarified that the resistance in Palestine is based on faith and although it does not have naval or air capabilities, it has exposed the Zionist entity and its main supporter, the United States.

For his part, Arnous conveyed the greetings of President Bashar al-Assad to the Iranian President, pointing out that President Raisi’s recent visit to Damascus was a turning point in the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, and it contributed to enhancing bilateral cooperation at all levels.

The Prime Minister stressed the Syrian government’s keenness to strengthen bilateral relations in various sectors, including tourism, banking, transportation, agriculture, and industry.

Earlier, Arnous met with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran’s Consultative Council to discuss means of consolidating bilateral relations, particularly in the field of economy and trade.

Ghalibaf stressed the importance of the agreements reached during the visit of the Syrian government’s delegation to Iran, saying “we must benefit from the opportunities to boost economic and trade cooperation.

For his part, Arnous said that establishing a joint bank and working to use the local currency for trade exchanges, expressing hope that joint efforts should be intensified to upgrade the economic relations to the hoped-for level.

​Hamda Mustafa