TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran is ready to transfer technical know-how to Syria and rebuild infrastructures of this Arab country in line with strengthening cooperation in all fields, especially trade and economy, the agriculture minister said.
In a meeting with Syrian Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Mohammad Samer al-Khalil in Tehran on Monday, Iran’s Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Ali Nikbakht emphasized the need for expanding bilateral economic cooperation.
Iran is ready to cooperate and collaborate with Syria thanks to its fruitful experiences and technical engineering know-how in various agricultural sectors including farming, fisheries and processing industries, he said.
Turning to the small-scale projects for supplying water including watershed management, aquifer and transfer of water for increasing productivity, Nikbakht added that achieving subsurface irrigational methods in the world with 60% reduction in consumption of water is unique in its kind.
He referred to the country’s self-sufficiency in producing milk and different types of dairy and added that in addition to meeting the domestic demand, the country currently exports these products overseas.
He also said Iran is among the top countries in global ranking in the fields of producing citrus fruits, pistachios, saffron, etc.
Iran and Syria enjoy high potentials in the agricultural sector and can enhance their cooperation in this field, he said, calling for the facilitation of activities for enhancing the level of trade exchanges between the two countries as emphasized by Iranian and Syrian presidents.
Iran’s agriculture minister further expressed hope that barriers in the way of economic cooperation would be removed between Iran and Syria in the shortest time possible in order to spur trade activities.
Syria’s economy and foreign trade minister, who is the head of the Iran-Syria Joint Economic Cooperation Commission, for his part, emphasized the need for developing bilateral cooperation in the field of trade and economy and added that his country has previously benefited from Iran’s experience in the agricultural field.
Syria is an importer of many Iranian-made products and is interested in using Iran’s fruitful experiences in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries, Mohammad Samer al-Khalil added.
