Saudi Arabia and Syria agreed Thursday to promote trade and investment between the two regional powerhouses, as King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, wrapped up a visit to Syria. King Abdullah left Damascus for Riyadh Thursday after a two-day visit in which he held wide-ranging talks on regional and international issues with Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad. The King received President Al-Asad at his residence in Damascus Thursday, continuing their two rounds of talks that have largely helped heal a rift which has for years aggravated Arab discord over Iran, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and Lebanon. The two leaders agreed Wednesday to “remove the obstacles” to closer ties between the two powerhouses long at odds, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The summit could contribute to helping stabilize Iraq, which borders both countries, and to ending a political stalemate in Lebanon. The two leaders called for the “joining of Arab, Islamic and international efforts to lift the (Israeli) embargo imposed on the Palestinians and put an end to the practices of Israeli occupation forces against the rights of the Palestinian people and sacred sites of Islam.” President Al-Asad accompanied King Abdullah to the airport on Thursday in a formal convoy. The King was seen off by Syrian Vice President Farouq Al-Sharaa, Saudi Ambassador to Syria Abdullah Al-Ofayan, and senior officials. Trade promotion Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf and his Syrian counterpart Mohammed Al-Hussein said Thursday the volume of trade, now only $2 billion a year, will “begin growing in the coming days,” SANA said. “We have decided to remove the difficulties hindering commercial exchanges, notably the taxes recently imposed by Syria on products exported to Saudi Arabia,” such as olive oil and ceramics, Al-Hussein was quoted as saying. The two sides discussed the establishment of a joint bank and insurance company in Syria, stressing the importance of holding the Saudi-Syrian business forum in Damascus in the first quarter of 2010. Al-Assaf spoke of King Abdullah's visit, his first since ascending to the throne in 2005, as “very important for strengthening economic relations” between the two countries. Flexible investment The agreement signed between Saudi Arabia and Syria Wednesday to avoid double taxation would “pave the way for the flow of investment between the two countries,” said Ahmad Abdulaziz, chairman of the Syrian Investment Commission. It would simplify the procedures for investors and improve investment conditions, he said. Syria has become a good investment environment due to new improved and flexible investment laws, he added. Abdulaziz has called on Saudi investors in the field of energy, agriculture, and tourism, and infrastructure to invest in Syria, expecting to reap the economic fruit of the King's visit soon.
