Meetings of the Syrian-Iraqi Joint Committee kick off in Damascus

Damascus – Meetings of the 11th session of the Syrian-Iraqi Joint Committee started in Damascus on Monday with the aim of discussing cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, investment and education.

The meetings kicked off with the participation of Syria’s Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer Al-Khalil and the Iraqi Minister of Trade Atheer Al-Ghurairy.

Minister Al-Khalil stressed the importance of enhancing the volume of intra-trade between the two countries in a way that is greater than what is currently in place and overcoming the obstacles and difficulties that face this. He indicated that the discussions will deal with the issue of customs duties and everything that prevents the flow of Syrian products to Iraqi markets or the entry of Iraqi products into Syria, out of keenness on both sides to increasing and raising the level of trade exchange, especially since brotherly Iraq is a major trading partner for Syria for many years.

Khalil stressed the necessity of developing joint economic relations on the investment side and signing the initial documents for cooperation in the sectors of health, trade, education and other fields.

In turn, the Iraqi Minister of Trade pointed out that the inauguration of the work of the joint Syrian-Iraqi committee heralds optimism for a better future for the Syrian-Iraqi relations .. He indicated that the work of the committee will deal with all sectors including what resulted from the previous meeting of the committee with regard to signing Memorandums of understanding in the fields of health, trade and education.

Minister, Al-Ghurairy stressed that dialogues are continuing in the rest of the fields in order to overcome all obstacles that stand in the way of developing and raising the level of trade exchange to the highest possible levels to achieve the interest of both parties.

Minister Al-Ghurairy pointed out that the ambition is great to attract Syrian industrial capabilities and expertise inside Iraq. He indicated that the Iraqi market is promising, and the laws and legislations are flexible to open up to all sectors.

The Chairman of the Planning and International Cooperation Authority, Dr. Fadi Salti Al-Khalil, considered that the comprehensive representation of the two sides in the committee’s meetings indicates a real determination by both countries to develop bilateral cooperation, as it will include other levels and sectors such as education, health, culture, energy, electricity, customs, oil, water resources, communications, public works, and social and foreign affairs.

Assistant Minister of Economy, Rania Ahmed said that tomorrow, the technical discussions will resume until the completion of all work in all sectors, so that they can be completed and the final minutes signed. She indicated that a forum will be held tomorrow that will bring together Syrian and Iraqi business activities to discuss cooperation at the level of the private sector and talk about problems and obstacles that prevent the development of cooperation relations between the two countries in this regard.” field and proposing solutions and seeking to overcome them.

In turn, Ali Abd Al-Hadi Al-Dakhili, Vice-President of the Federation of Iraqi Industries said: Participation in the talks aims to establish the mutual economic relationship between the Iraqi and Syrian sides. He indicated that there is a real desire of the Syrian investor to invest in Iraq, as well as there is an intention to transfer the joint industry between the two sides, which will contribute to the production of a  better Syrian-Iraqi economy.

The agenda of the committee, whose meetings will be held over two days at the Dama Rose Hotel, includes a general evaluation of the measures taken to implement what was stated in the minutes of the tenth session meetings that were held in Baghdad in 2021, and a discussion of issues of joint cooperation in many fields, such as trade, investment, industry, agriculture, water resources, and education, Higher education, health and tourism.

Hamda Mustafa, Raghda Sawas