President Maduro awards Syrian Ambassador first class order, says he will visit Syria soon

President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has announced that he will visit Syria soon to join the Syrian people and leadership in their celebration on restoring peace and stability in the country after years of suffering from a foreign backed terrorist war.

Maduro made the remarks during a ceremony held in Caracas to award the Syrian Ambassador to Venezuela Khalil Bitar the Order of Francisco de Miranda First Class on the occasion of ending his term of office in the country.

“Granting Ambassador Bitar this order indicates the deep friendship and mutual admiration between the Venezuelan and Syrian peoples who are against imperialism and terrorism and who aspire for peace so that prosperity and economic development can prevail worldwide, President Maduro said.

“We admire the history of the Syrian people, we admire their heroism, steadfastness and struggle against the terrorist organizations…We hail the bravery of President Bashar Al-Assad and his heroic stances against the American terrorist aggression and against the parties that colluded with this aggression.” Maduro added.

 He pointed out that Syria achieved victory over terrorism with the assistance of its allies, including Russia, China, Iran and other anti-imperialism peoples, noting Venezuela’s support for Syria.

Madoru called for respecting Syria’s right to reconstruct what terrorism has destroyed and to achieve prosperity, stressing that Syria is the center of cultures.

He suggested an idea for holding an exhibition on economy and investment in Damascus in which Venezuelan businessmen and the Syrian community in Venezuela take part. The aim is to confirm Venezuela’s readiness to assist in reconstructing Syria.

On his part, Bitar thanked President Maduro and the government of Venezuela for granting him the highest order ever given to foreigners, stressing that he will always love and appreciate Venezuela as a leadership and people.

Bitar noted the 7-decade old diplomatic relations between the two countries and talked about the qualitative development of these relations under the leadership of President Al-Assad and the late leader Hugo Chavez and the current President Nicolas Maduro.

He pointed out that Syria is looking forward to President Maduro’s visit in order to review the achievements realized in the reconstruction field and to figure out the opportunities the reconstruction stage can offer to boost bilateral relations.

Hamda Mustafa