Syria is keen on building bridges of cooperation with brotherly and friendly countries: Transport Minister

The transport ministers of Syria as well as the countries neighboring Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States took part in the “Development Road Conference” which was opened on Saturday in Baghdad.

The conference aims at enhancing cooperation and economic connection between Iraq and its brotherly and friendly countries in a way that forms a solid base for attaining peace, stability and prosperity for the peoples of the region.

During the conference, Syria’s Minister of Transport Zuhair Khuzaym said “we look forward to achieving more useful, comprehensive and sustainable economic feasibility in a way that facilitates the transport movement between our countries and reflects positively on the peoples of the entire region”.

“Syria is keen on laying bridges of cooperation with its brotherly and friendly countries. Our presence in this conference today is a chance to stress our support for the Development Road Initiative,” Khuzaym added.

Khuzaym referred to Syria’s important geographical position, stressing its keenness on completing the integration of the tripartite railway connection between Syria, Iraq and Iran.

The minister noted the importance of railways connection for international transportation via Syria, starting from the Iraqi ports via Al-Qaim and then Al-Bukamal, Homs and the Syrian ports, with a length of 1,300 km, of which 900 km are within the Iraqi territories and 400 km are within the Syrian territories.

Khuzaym also explained that there is an important project to establish two highways in Syria, the first is a 351 km long road that connects the Iraqi borders with Tartous port via Homs, while the second is a 432 km long road that connects Turkish borders in the north with the Jordanian borders in the south via Aleppo, Homs and Damascus.

He pointed out that the railways network and two roads projects guarantee the arrival of  goods from the south of Iraq to the Mediterranean in a shorter distance.

He suggested that this track goes through Syria as it achieves strategic benefits for Iraq, the Arab Gulf states and the neighboring countries by transporting and shipping their products and goods to European countries.

He affirmed Syria’s willingness to cooperate in this regard.

In his opening speech, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Al-Sudani affirmed that the “Development Road” is an economic lifeline and a promising opportunity for a meeting of interests, history and cultures.

“Decades ago our region faced multiple-rooted obstacles that extended to multiple problems,” he added, according to the Iraqi News Agency.

He emphasized that “the obstacles become insignificant when cooperating, noting that “the Development Road is an ambitious and deliberate plan to reshape the economy by utilizing strategic economic levers for sustainable growth and prosperity,” adding: ” Efforts towards economic diversification and combating the impacts of climate change are crucial. The path to effectively address these challenges lies in the Development Road initiative, which serves as the key to confront these influences and pave the way for progress. ”

Hamda Mustafa