Istanbul, (SANA)- Syrian Minister of Economy and Trade Lamia Assi stressed the importance of regional cooperation between the members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and Syria with the aim of enhancing inter-trade among them.
Speaking before the ECO Summit held in Istanbul on Thursday, Minister Assi highlighted the importance of focusing on the main tracks defined under transport, through land, sea and railway networking, energy fields and financial institutions or joint banks.
She pointed out that the goals of the ECO meets with President al-Assad's strategic vision on connecting the five seas, noting that the realization of this vision will bring prosperity to the region's countries and peoples.
In her speech, the Minister touched upon the most important achievements Syria has made on the way of economic reform and the shift from centrally-planned economy to social market economy.
She also reviewed the changes that have taken place in the environment of the Syrian economy and the ongoing reforms basically in terms of the legislative structure, public and private partnership and the integration of the Syrian economy into world economy.
ECO members states, in addition to the Iraqi President and ministers from Syria, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon and North Cyprus are participating as gests in the Summit which kicked off earlier on the day.
President Abdullah Gul of Turkey, handed over the presidency of the Organization's current session from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, opened the Summit with a stress on regional cooperation and coordination among the region's countries in order to ensure security, peace, stability and development to its peoples.
Gul underscored the great economic potentials the ECO members have, hoping that leaders of the countries participating in the Summit will sign its strategic vision document so that the existing agreements do not remain mere ink on paper and more convergence on the level of political views is reached.
The Economic Cooperation Organization, established in 1985, includes Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. H. Said
