Although Iran has always been a strong ally of Syria, this landmark visit has opened a new chapter in the political and economic relations between the two countries.

The two allies are now more determined to take significant measures for further strengthening of bilateral relations, especially in the economic sector.

During President Raisi’s visit to Damascus, Iran, and Syria signed numerous agreements in various areas including banking cooperation, the establishment of an insurance company, tourism, transportation, and free trade.

Less than two months after this visit, a high-ranking delegation led by Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad visited Iran to follow up on the agreements reached during the Iranian president’s visit to their country.

Syria’s Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Mohammad Samer al-Khalil and the country’s Communications and Technology Minister Iyad Mohammad al-Khatib were among the officials who accompanied al-Mekdad on his visit to Tehran.

During their stay, the Syrian officials met and held talks with top Iranian officials and ministers to explore ways of expanding ties and implementing the agreements and memorandums reached between the two countries.

Following up on previous agreements

Upon arrival to the capital Tehran on July 31st, Samer al-Khalil, who is the Syrian head of the Iran-Syria Joint Economic Committee, met with his co-chair official, Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash to exchange views on accelerating the implementation of the mentioned agreements.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, al-Khalil said the agreements reached during the visit of the Iranian President to Syria are in line with the interests of the two countries.

“[The goal of] Today’s meeting is to follow up on the agreements and approvals that were made during the visit of the President of Iran to Syria on May 5,” he stressed.

The Syrian minister noted that several constructive meetings have been held with Iranian officials regarding economic cooperation between the two countries and many topics have been discussed in all the potential fields of cooperation.

Bazrpash for his part mentioned the agreements signed during President Raisi’s visit to Syria, saying: “16 cooperation documents were signed between the two countries during the visit, and one of our main duties in the [two countries’ Joint Economic] committee is to follow up on the implementation of these documents.”

Enhancing banking, monetary ties

Later on August 4, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohammadreza Farzin met with Iyad Mohammad al-Khatib and Samer al-Khalil to discuss ways of expanding monetary and banking ties.

Speaking at this meeting, Farzin said: “Monetary and banking cooperation between Iran and Syria is followed seriously and will increase in the short term.”

Underlining the need for developing banking and commercial cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Syria, the CBI governor said: “Increasing monetary, banking, commercial and joint investment relations and cooperation is on the serious agenda of Tehran and Damascus.”

He further referred to the development of Iran’s electronic banking and monetary network and the CBI’s readiness for joint cooperation in this field with Syria, stating: “One of Iran’s important strategies in developing commercial cooperation with neighboring countries is replacing the dollar with national currencies in monetary and banking relations in order to increase the volume of trade transactions.”

Establishing a joint free trade zone in Syria

During the visit of the Syrian delegation to Tehran, the two sides also discussed establishing a joint free zone in Syria.

In a meeting with Hojatollah Abdolmaleki, the secretary of Iran’s Free Zones High Council, on Wednesday, the Syrian economy minister proposed establishing a joint free trade zone in the country’s Latakia port city.

“Certainly, one of Syria’s priorities in commercial and economic cooperation with Iran is to create a joint free zone,” Mohammad Samer al-Khalil said.

“Several meetings have been held to determine the best place for establishing a joint free trade zone with Iran and three areas of Latakia port, Abu Kamal, and Hassia have been proposed as areas for the establishment of the joint free zone”, he added.

Expanding agricultural cooperation

Samer al-Khalil also met with Iranian Agriculture Minister Mohammad-Ali Nikbakht on Sunday to discuss ways of boosting the level of cooperation in the agricultural sector.

During this meeting, the Iranian side said the country is ready to provide Syria with modern agricultural knowledge and technologies.

Nikbakht emphasized the need to develop economic cooperation between the two countries and said: “Considering our experiences and technical-engineering knowledge in various agricultural sectors, we are ready to cooperate with Syria in a variety of areas including horticulture, fisheries, and processing industries.”

“Having more than 2,000 researchers and academic staff in the Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization, Iran can exchange knowledge and technology with Syria in this field,” he said.

The official invited Syria’s agriculture minister, experts, and researchers to visit Iran in order to get familiar with the country’s agricultural technology and knowledge development.

Samer al-Khalil for his part emphasized the need to develop cooperation between the two countries and said: “In the past, we have benefited from Iran’s experiences in the field of livestock.”

Pointing out that Syria is an importer of many Iranian products in various fields, he added: “We are interested in using Iran’s experiences in various agricultural fields, including animal husbandry and fisheries, and we can mutually benefit by using the agricultural calendars of the two countries to strengthen our commercial and economic relations.”

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Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einollahi and Syrian Health Minister Hassan Al-Ghabbash met on May 23 on the sidelines of the seventy-sixth World Health Assembly which is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 21–30.

Increasing cooperation in the field of medicine and medical equipment is one of the priorities of the relations between the two friendly and brotherly countries, Einollahi said.

“We hope that the joint scientific and medical research conference with the participation of Iran and Syria will be held as soon aiming to improve health indicators in the region.”

He went on to say that the creation of a regional health working group with the active participation of Iran, Syria, and other friendly countries will have valuable achievements for the health of the countries in the region if it is accompanied by an operational plan and schedule.

“Currently, 76 Syrian students are studying in Iran’s universities of medical sciences, and considering the advantage of the integration of education and treatment in the health system of the Islamic Republic, we are ready to exchange professors and students with Syria.”

Al-Ghabbash, for his part, said that Syria welcomes the cooperation and expansion of health diplomacy with the friendly and brotherly country of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He announced Syria’s readiness to speed up the implementation of the previous agreements with the Islamic Republic in the field of health.

Addressing the World Health Assembly, Einollahi said the only way to ensure the global health goals, including “saving people and ensuring health for all,” is to increase opportunities for meaningful international collaboration and partnership.

He went on to say that the right to enjoy health and enjoy the highest health standards should be available to everyone without distinction of race, religion, political opinions, or economic and social conditions.

Equitable, unimpeded, and timely access to health products and medical countermeasures is critical in public health emergencies.

Unilateral coercive measures, as acknowledged in the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on his visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, negatively affect the right to health of people under sanctions.

“Regional and subregional cooperation can play an important role in promoting health for all. Health-focused subregional initiatives, such as the G5 cooperation program in our region, can help improve the resilience of health systems.”

The Group of Five cooperation program was designed and initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran with the participation of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and the World Health Organization, and Tajikistan as observers. This subregional group is a unique example of South-South cooperation in the field of health, the minister stressed.

“We are happy to share our subregional joint health achievements with other regions and countries.”

The 26th G5 High-Level Experts Meeting on Health Cooperation and the 1st Healthcare Leadership and Governance Training Program was held in Tehran from May 6-10.

G5 countries (Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, plus the World Health Organization) took part in the meeting with the theme of “Joint Work for Solving Joint Health Problems.”

Iran initiated the establishment of the G5 in 2005 to promote subregional cooperation in health among the countries.

Syed Jaffar Hussain, the World Health Organization Representative and Head of Mission in Iran, has appreciated the country for its efforts to enhance health security in the region.

The WHO representative also thanked Iran for holding the 26th G5 High-Level Experts Meeting on Health Cooperation and the 1st Healthcare Leadership and Governance Training Program, IRNA reported.

In June 2021, al-Mandhari said the Islamic Republic of Iran is a role model for primary health care.

For the past four decades, its PHC network has aimed to ensure that people have timely access to affordable, accessible, and acceptable essential health services, he explained.

During the seventy-sixth World Health Assembly, a series of strategic roundtables are being held. During these sessions, WHA delegates, partner agencies, representatives of civil society, and WHO experts will discuss current and future priorities for public health issues of global importance.

The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed program budget. The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

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Shafei said that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s private sector is prepared to cooperate with Syrians in reconstruction projects and investments, an Iranian official said.

On Monday and on the sidelines of Iran-Syria Trade Forum and in meeting with Head of Syrian Chamber of Commerce  Muhammad Abu al-Hoda al-Lahham, Mr. Shafei noted that the Iranian private sector is eager to work with Syrians in reconstructing infrastructure, improving industrial and mineral sectors, providing technical and engineering services, and investing in dam building, water, sewage, electricity and energy projects in the war-stricken Arab country.

The chamber of commerce has tried to expand the good relationship to economic sectors as well, the official said, noting that the necessity to exchange data, create information bank, get acquainted with regulations and trade opportunities has led to holding a seminar to expand economic cooperation.

As to the level of bilateral economic ties in recent years, he mentioned that there is a long road ahead to upgrade current trade exchanges to a preferred level, which can take place as a result of governments’ support in creating infrastructure and implementing free trade agreements.

Development of mutual ties will help increase trade exchanges, Shafe’i said, arguing that the Islamic Republic is expected to organize precise programs in different spheres to pave the ground for participation of Iranian private sector in reconstruction of Syria.

The collaborations can help boost expansion of relationships in other sectors such as industry and agriculture, he noted, adding that the two countries plan to increase exchanges to one billion dollars per annum.

The chambers of commerce are leading executive forces in both countries, which play a key role in development of trade ties, the Iranian official said.

Given the fact that Iran has succeeded in upgrading its agricultural sector and there are fertile lands in Syria, Iranian investment in this sector should be on the agenda, he said.

Meanwhile during the forum, Syrian Ambassador to Tehran Shafiq Dayoub said that the trade volume between Iran and Syria has been doubled in one year but it has not reached the satisfactory level but the embassy’s efforts in the past year have been directed to the reinforcement of bilateral trade.

He then pointed to the historic relations between Tehran and Damascus, reiterated the tie between the two countries is unique and is on the right track.

He expressed hope such a forum would help broadening economic ties between the two states, reiterating that Syrian Foreign Ministry as well as Iran’s Embassy in Damascus will take all steps for broadening trade cooperation between the two countries.

Meanwhile head of Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce Keyvan Kashefi said that preferential tariff is an accelerator for broadening economic relations between the two states, adding that the trade exchange between the two countries has increased by 60% and Iran’s exports have been doubled.

He said that id the hurdles are removed by officials of the two countries, the trade volume of one billion dollars will not be far-fetched.

He reiterated that they can boost cooperation in agro and tourism sectors, adding that Iran has a trade center in Damascus and both countries can cooperate in production through synergy.

Kashefi reiterated that “Region is Ours” and Iran can take advantage of it.

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