Damascus, (SANA)-Syria and Spain are linked by distinguished relations, enhanced by the growing cooperation in all fields.
Those relations have achieved an important progress during the latest years after the first visit of President Bashar al-Assad to Spain in May 2001, and the visit of King Juan Carlos of Spain and his wife Sophia to Syria in October 2003, as well as the visits of President al-Assad to Spain in 2004 and 2008.
During a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in July, Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero expressed his country's keenness to develop relations with Syria in all fields.
Zapatero hoped to visit Syria and meet President al-Assad, hailing Syria's pivotal role in providing safety and security in the region.
The Syrian-Spanish relations have been characterized by cooperation and constructive dialogue based on mutual standpoints on regional and world issues.
The visit of the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero comes in the framework of the continued cooperation and coordination that helps enhance mutual interests and achieve security and stability in the region.
The reciprocal visits between officials of the two countries gave momentum to bilateral cooperation over the past decades and deepened friendly ties between peoples of the two countries. Spain also reiterated support to Syria's stances on many occasions and its full commitment to just and comprehensive peace.
In the economic sphere, Syria and Spain enjoyed vital and durable relations characterized by mutual interest in enhancing them through increasing trade exchange volume and cooperation in the investment, development and technical domains.
During the Syrian-Spanish Economic Forum held in July 2008 in Madrid, Syria and Spain agreed on cooperation in the field of renewable energy, encouraging Spanish companies to work in Syria, and an initial agreement was reached on offering Spanish support to fund small and medium-sized companies in Syria.
Also during the Forum, the Spanish side voiced willingness to support the establishment of micro-fund program to curb poverty through forming a Syrian-Spanish micro-fund establishment, and encouraging Spanish companies to work in the infrastructure projects in Syria.
The trade exchange volume between Syria and Spain reached SP 18.4 billions, 5.4 of which are the volume of Syrian imports from Spain, whereas exports hit SP 13 billions. Since 1992, the trade balance registered a surplus to Syria's advantage, which reached SP 4.407 billions in 2000 out of the overall trade exchange volume which is estimated at SP 12.162 billions.
Syria's most important imports from Spain are: lubricants, iron bars, cast iron, wool, air pumps, sheet metals and panels. In the field of cultural cooperation, the Spanish Cultural Center /Cervantes/ proves the fruitful cooperation between the two countries. The number of the enrolled Syrian students in the center reached 3000 and it continues to grow, and the good ties resulted in opening the Spanish Language Department at Damascus University.
Manal Ismael/Aridi/ I.kazhali / Mazen
