Erdogan will visit Syria soon, Fidan says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Syria soon. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said this in Damascus on September 13 at a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
According to Fidan, during the upcoming visit, the sides will hold intensive and comprehensive talks on political, economic and military issues. He called the trip an important step during which the decisions and measures of the two countries’ Joint High Committee will be considered.
Plans for the joint committee
Fidan said that the committee will be jointly chaired by representatives of the two states. It is to hold regular meetings, operate through a permanent secretariat and rely on specialized sectoral committees. The agenda will include energy, refugee returns, education and culture.
Al-Shaibani said that Syria has developed a comprehensive program for the organized return of refugees. It provides for housing, jobs and transport managed by the Syrian side and is linked to reconstruction projects in the people’s regions of origin. He also said that Damascus is close to resuming the operation of its embassy in Ankara.
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Trade and security
Al-Shaibani said that Syria and Turkey have signed 40 agreements and memorandums of understanding, and have also formed a cooperation network between 22 Syrian ministries and institutions and their Turkish counterparts.
According to him, the countries seek to increase bilateral trade from nearly $4 billion last year to $10 billion through production cooperation, job creation in Syria and joint industrial zones on the border. The sides are also working on an energy strategy that will cover gas, electricity and power grid interconnections.
Fidan stressed that Turkey considers Syria’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity necessary, and that all armed formations must integrate into state institutions. He also called the decision on the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces an important step.
