Iran, Syria plan to sign FTA
Press TV, Iran
Iran, Syria plan to sign FTA
16 Aug 2010
Iran is in talks with Syria to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) after Damascus and Ankara reached a similar deal, says the Iranian commerce minister.
"A free trade agreement has been signed between Syria and Turkey and we hope talks between the two sides bear fruit and Iran and Syria sign the agreement," Mehdi Ghazanfari said on Sunday in Damascus.
Ghazanfari said he hopes that the two countries would reach the deal within the coming days, IRINN news channel reported.
The agreement between Iran and Syria will reduce tariffs by 20 percent per year, he said.
Iran and Syria seek to increase their trade volume to five billion dollars per annum.
In April, Iran and Syria signed 17 memorandum of understandings to reinforce mutual cooperation.
Based on the agreements, Tehran and Damascus will boost cooperation in the fields of trade, banking, transportation, telecommunications, information technology, health, culture, education, tourism and agriculture.
