Moscow (ST):  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for the use of national currencies instead of the US dollar in mutual settlements between countries to reduce the risks of US sanctions.

Lavrov said in an interview with Chinese media published by the Russian Foreign Ministry last night that to reduce the risks of US sanctions, we need to enhance our technological independence by using global national currencies as an alternative to the dollar in reciprocal settlements, noting that “we should stay away from the use of payment systems controlled by the West, and Russia and China have to strengthen their independence.

After the return of security and stability to large areas in Daraa Governorate  and after providing  the necessary support by  the Directorate of Industry and the  Craftsmen Union there , about 222 terrorism-affected  craft facilities   have returned to production  throughout the governorate within a  year. Head of the Administrative and Financial Office of  Daraa’s  Craftsmen Union, Ayman Al-Damad, told  SANA  that the craft establishments , which re-launched production,  were distributed among cement products, blacksmithing, metal turning, bakeries , food industries, photography, sewing , jewelry, aluminum industries , repairing   electrical appliances, vocational training centers, olive presses and  carpentry.

He indicated that some of these facilities were totally or partially damaged as a result of the crimes  carried out by  the terrorist organizations during the  nine-year  brutal  war on Syria  and that they will contribute to providing  local products and  services to the people of the governorate.

The work of the 10th  session of the joint Syrian-Iraqi committee began today in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to discuss ways to develop cooperation between the two countries in various fields. Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Dr. Muhammad Samer Al-Khalil chaired the Syrian side, while Iraqi Minister of Trade, Dr. Alaa Al-Jbouri chaired the Iraqi side.

At the beginning of the meetings,  Al-Jbouri stressed that the historical, geographical, cultural and social ties between the two countries play a central role in enhancing joint cooperation, indicating that his country's government aspires to make the committee's work a turning point in the level of bilateral relations in various fields, especially economic, commercial, cultural and scientific fields.

Deir Ezzour (ST): The cities and towns of the western countryside of Deir Ezzour are witnessing a state of recovery and an increasing return of the people after the area was rid of terrorism and  basic services returned.

Vice President of the Executive Bureau of the governorate, Kana'an Abdel-Wahab explained that the governorate, since the liberation of its western countryside from terrorism by the men of the Syrian Arab Army at the end of the year 2017, developed an integrated action plan to restore services and rehabilitate what was destroyed by terrorism, which began with cleaning the streets and removing the rubble and then rehabilitating schools, bakeries, sewage, water, electricity and communications, activating police units, government departments and institutions, and providing agricultural production requirements, which contributed to the massive return of the people whose return  made the city regain its previous lifestyle.

According to Abdel Wahhab, the number of people returning to their homes and villages in the western countryside has reached about 195,000 citizens.

The General Director of the Water Establishment, Engineer Rabie Al-Ali, indicated for his part that the Establishment  has operated all drinking water stations after rehabilitating them with a total capacity of 1,450 cubic meters per hour, as well as maintenance of the main and subsidiary networks in all regions.

General Director of the Electricity Company, Eng. Khalid Lutfi  stated that the electrical current was connected to most areas of the western countryside after the rehabilitation of the radio station, as the length of the line and its branches is 145 km, and 126 transformers have been installed with different capacities, adding that work is currently underway to contract the implementation of a 2 km long line funded by the Deir Ezzour Fund for Development

The director of the Syrian Trade Branch, Aghyad Al-Juwaishi, indicated that the establishment has opened 7 sales halls in the western countryside to secure the people's needs of food and consumer goods and materials that are sold via the smart card, pointing out that mobile lorries are sent to areas where there are no sales outlets or halls.

Director of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Bassam Al-Hazaa  said that  through 5 bakeries, bread is provided to the people in the western countryside of the governorate.

The Director of Health, Dr. Bashar Al-Shua'ibi, explained that health services are provided to the people through health centers that have been rehabilitated and provided with health cadres, medicines and vaccines, which are Al-Tabani centers, Shumaytiyah, Abu Shahri, and Al-Meharb, in addition to the mobile clinics that serve 11 towns in the western countryside.

The Director of Communications, Engineer Ramadan Al-Dheli, indicated that the communication network in the western countryside of the governorate has been restarted, up to the eastern countryside of Raqqa, while Director of Civil Affairs Mahmoud Al-Mahmoud stated that the Civil Registry Secretariat has been re-activated in both Al-Shumaytiyah and Al-Tebni, and it has been provided with workers to provide the required services to citizens.

Regarding the agricultural situation, the Director of Agriculture, Eng. Abdel Hamid Abdel Hamid, indicated that the wheel of agricultural production in its two parts, plant and animal, has returned to circulation after providing all production requirements such as seeds, fertilizers and irrigation water, indicating that the areas planted with wheat this season amounted to about 69 thousand dunums.

A number of the returning families referred to the government efforts exerted to provide all basic services and activate service departments and institutions.

Ghanem Al-Suwaidan said that he has started to farm his land again   after the return of security and safety to the town of Al-Shumaitiya, to which most of the people returned, and the services are available, including schools, a bakery, water, electricity and others.

Ahmed Saleh Al-Khalaf, from the town of Ayyash, said that the government had provided all the basic needs of the people, which encouraged them to return to practicing their agricultural activities and raising livestock

K.Q.

Small projects, which were launched by a group of women in Aleppo, have  contributed to securing part of the needs of the local market in addition to providing job opportunities for a number of families.

Eng.  Soha Khdeir,an entrepreneur  who owns a medium-sized facility for  textile and brocade  industry  said  to SANA that her  fabrics and  textiles products  were exported to more than 15 Arab and foreign countries which later stopped due to the terrorist war on Syria. 

She pointed out that  the production  process during the crisis targeted  the local  market and manufactured  basic raw material including  Syrian brocade and cotton which were required by  most countries of the world.