Iranian Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Reza Fatemi-Amin, expressed the readiness of Iranian companies in reviving shuttered factories in Syria and establish joint ventures.
Speaking to reporters after visiting a number of factories in the industrial city of Adra on Tuesday, Fatemi-Amin said the aim of his visit is to develop economic relations between the two countries and support them to restore the glory of the Syrian industry, which suffered huge losses during the terrorist war against the country, particularly the textile industry, SANA reported.
The Iranian minister and the accompanying delegation embarked on a visit to Syria on Sunday, which included several official meetings and the opening of the second Iranian products exhibition. The visit ended on Tuesday with the Syrian Investment Opportunities Forum.
Iranian businesses active in the fields of hospital and medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, agriculture, animal husbandry, oil and gas, petrochemicals, police and security equipment, food production, water and electricity, steel, informatics, doors and windows, elevators and escalators, chain store and supermarket equipment, motorcycles, automobiles, textile, home appliances, banking and insurance took part in the expo, IRIB News reported.
Iran exported about 38,000 tons of non-oil goods valued at $66 million to Syria during the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 21-July 21) to register a 36% rise in value but a 26% decline in tonnage compared with last year’s corresponding period, according to the director general of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran’s Arab and African Affairs Bureau.
Speaking in an interview with Fars News Agency, Farzad Piltan added that Iran is the seventh biggest exporter to Syria, adding that Iran accounts for only 3% of export share in the Syrian market.
Iran has offered to help Syria reconstruct its war-torn areas after years of conflict.
Tehran and Damascus have a free trade agreement in place which, according to Piltan, can have a significant effect on easing trade between the two sides.
“Syria’s high demand for agricultural products, food products, home appliances, pharmaceuticals, construction material, sanitary ware, agro machinery and equipment, and Iran’s capabilities in these areas, coupled with reasonable prices and high quality can help boost commercial interactions between the two sides,” he said.
Syria and Iran concluded a free trade agreement in February 2012, which included reducing customs duties to 4% on goods traded between the two countries, cancelling all quantitative restrictions and lifting the ban on imports with similar effects.
The agreement came into force on March 12, 2012, which also allowed commercial trucks to pass between the two countries through Iraq.
