Damascus-SANA
Dr. Faisal Al-Miqdad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the accompanying delegation held a session of political and economic talks in which they discussed issues of common interest between the two countries.
Minister Miqdad reviewed the axes of cooperation between Syria and China, including in the field of combating terrorism, economic development, and political coordination in all international forums, pointing to the two countries' rejection of unilateral coercive measures, expressing the appreciation of the Syrian government and people to China for the support it provided in various fields.
Minister Miqdad pointed out that Syria and China recently celebrated the 65th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries, stressing that these relations are getting deeper and more distinguished day by day.
For his part, the Chinese minister indicated that the exchange of support and cooperation between the two countries is a tradition that the two sides have adhered to since the establishment of diplomatic relations, stressing their commitment to respecting Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, noting that the next stage will witness a strengthening of cooperation between Syria and China, deepening the two countries' ability to face existing challenges.
For his part, Dr. Imad al-Sabouni, head of the Planning and International Cooperation Authority, discussed during the session the prospects for economic cooperation between Syria and China, pointing out that preparations between the two sides are underway to hold a meeting soon for the Sino-Syrian joint committee.
For her part, Rania Ahmed, Assistant Minister of Economy, presented some data on the volume of trade exchange with China and the possibility of enhancing economic and trade cooperation in addition to investing in reconstruction.
Following the end of the talks session, in the presence of the two ministers, an agreement on economic and technical cooperation between the government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the government of the People’s Republic of China was signed by the Chairman of the Planning and International Cooperation Authority and Ambassador Fong Biao, the Chinese ambassador in Damascus. A document of the delivery of the first batch of food aid to Syria from Damascus was also signed. Khaled Haboubati, head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and Ambassador Biao accepted.
The talks were attended by Dr. Bashar Al-Jaafari, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ambassador Radwan Lutfi, Director of the Asia Department, Ambassador Sami Salama, Director of Protocol, Dr. Abdullah Hallaq, Director of the Private Office, Warif Al-Halabi, Director of the Information Department, Ahmed Diab from the Asia Department, Rua Sharbaji and Yazan Al-Hakim from the Minister’s office, and from the Chinese side, Jian Keming, Deputy Minister of Commerce and Ambassador Biao and Ding Li, deputy foreign minister of China, Wang Di, director of the West Asia Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin of the information department of the ministry, and Rulong of the Protocol Department.