Russia and Syria have signed an agreement on creating a ‘green customs corridor’ for agricultural products.
“Syrians are trying hard to supply high-quality products to the Russian market. Why shouldn’t we take these products that give jobs to thousands, tens of thousands of Syrian people? We have agreed on this,” TASS quoted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin as saying.
Rogozin is now heading a Russian delegation that has arrived in Syria to discuss economic assistance with President Bashar Assad.
“Syria was a successful country that used to sell oil, grain. Now it has neither oil nor grain nor many other products to meet the demands of the population,” the Russian official said.
He added the Russian-Syrian commission for trade and economic, scientific and technical cooperation will consider all possible means to support Syria.
The heads of major private Russian industrial companies have presented energy and transport projects to the Assad government.
Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi announced that Moscow and Damascus have already signed nearly a billion dollars worth of agreements in various sectors of economy, including energy, trade and finance.
Damascus offered to its Russian counterparts a chance to explore and develop oil and gas on land and offshore. Countries are also negotiating a joint bank to make transactions easier.
Russia has got a priority in contracts for the war-torn country’s reconstruction, according to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem.
