DAMASCUS, (ST)- President Bashar Al-Assad has stressed that the top priority of the government's work in the coming era is fighting corruption.

Terrorism and corruption are two sides of the same coin

Chairing a meeting for the government on Thursday after he swore in newly- appointed ministers, President Al-Assad said that any defect in the state is a kind of corruption that causes chaos and frustration which leads to the fragmentation of the society, "therefore, many consider corruption and terrorism as two sides of the same coin".

Prevention and deterrence

President Al-Assad made it clear that it is important and necessary to punish the corrupt, but what is more important is the prevention and deterrence against corruption. He reiterated that prevention starts from structure, regulations, laws and all the rules that govern institutions' work, noting that the biggest part of corruption is caused by the gaps that exist in the laws.

DAMASCUS, (ST)-President Bashar Al-Assad has stressed that the media must be the first to tackle the gaps in Arab societies; the gaps which are basically linked to the identity crisis in the Arab region which the West exploited to penetrate Arab societies and interfere in the internal affairs of the region's countries.

President Al-Assad made the remarks during his meeting on Monday with a delegation representing the General Secretariat of the Arab Journalists Federation.

DAMASCUS-President Bashar Al-Assad on Monday participated in a religious festival held by Ministry of Endowments on the occasion of Prophet Mohammad’s birthday at Sa’ad bin Mo’az mosque in Damascus.

The President performed al-Isha’a prayers led by Imam Mohammad al-Bizm, Mufti of Damascus, according to SANA.

Minister of Endowments Mohammad Abul-Sattar al-Sayyed delivered a speech in which he pointed out to the life of Prophet Mohammad and his message which has started with combating unenlightenment, raising the flag of science, education and civilization and concluded by the announcement of the human rights in life, freedom and equality.

DAMASCUS, (ST)- President Bashar Al-Assad has underscored the importance of parliamentary delegations' visits to Syria, because they reflect the real stances of peoples and represent the compass of bilateral relations between countries; relations that should be based on achieving the interests and aspiration of the peoples.

President Al-Assad was speaking during a meeting on Monday with a Jordanian parliamentary delegation that comprised heads of some Jordanian Parliament committees and led by MP Abul Karim al-Daghmi. Talks focused on the importance of reactivating the Syrian-Jordanian relations in all fields as to serve the interests of the peoples of the two brotherly countries.

DAMASCUS, (ST)- President Basher Al-Assad on Thursday received members of the Executive Office of the Arab Agricultural Engineers Union.

"One of the key factors which have contributed to enhancing Syria's independent decision over the past decades has been the food security guaranteed by the country's agricultural sector," President Al-Assad stressed, adding that "thus, one of the first goals of the terrorist groups in Syria was cutting the roads to hinder the delivery of agricultural crops in implementation of foreign schemes against the region that aim at preventing the region's countries from owning their decision.