- Title: JORDAN: Jordan and Syria boost relations with economic agreements
- Date: 31st December 2007
- Summary: VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF JORDANIAN AND SYRIAN DELEGATIONS SITTING AROUND LARGE TABLE AHEAD OF SIGNING THE AGREEMENTS VARIOUS OF AGREEMENT SIGNING CEREMONY BETWEEN THE SYRIAN AND JORDANIAN DELEGATIONS JORDANIAN PRIME MINISTER NADER AL-DHAHABI AND SYRIAN PRIME MINISTER NAJI AL-OTARI SIGNING AN AGREEMENT WIDE OF THE PRIME MINISTERS SHAKING HANDS
- Embargoed: 15th January 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Jordan
- Country: Jordan
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA5AAXVHUD76CDMJT7WZN4UU7Y1
- Story Text: Jordan and neighbouring Syria boost bilateral relations by signing in Amman 12 agreements in various fields including trade, industry, transport and water.
Jordan and neighbouring Syria boosted bilateral relations by signing trade and water cooperation agreements in the Jordanian capital Amman on Sunday (December 30).
Members of the Joint Syrian-Jordanian Higher Committee, led by Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari and Jordanian Prime Minister Nader al-Dhabi, began talks Saturday (December 29), and signed 12 agreements to cooperate in various fields including trade, industry, transport and water.
Al-Otari told reporters at a joint news conference with al-Dhahabi after the meetings that strengthening bilateral economic relations would cause a ripple effect and improve Jordanian-Syrian relations in other fields.
"When we strengthen economic relations and base them on firm grounding, these economic relations can open horizons for the growth of these relations and give them a strong push forward. Agreements were forged in all the development areas that the Prime Minister (Nader al-Dhahabi) and they all have great potential," said the Syrian Prime Minister.
"Currently, the trade between the two countries amounts to around 500 million U.S. dollars, and we hope that when members of the Higher Jordanian-Syrian Committee meet, this figure will rise. Our ambition is that it will reach one billion (U.S.) dollars, because there are vast horizons for boosting this cooperation," al-Otari added.
Frosty Jordanian-Syrian relations began to thaw after Jordan's King Abdullah made a land-mark visit to Damascus in November and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The visit resulted in the release of 18 Jordanian prisoners from Syrian jails.
Syrian-Jordanian relations have undergone tense periods in recent years over management of joint water resources and regional political issues, including the Arab-Israeli peace process. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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