Damascus, SANA – Minister of Public Works Hussein Arnous expressed to South African Ambassador in Damascus Shaun Byneveldt on Thursday the Ministry’s wish that South African companies provide some of the needed machinery it intends to purchase this year.
The Ministry has a plan to get 152 engineering machines out of the 650 it needs for reconstruction projects for the next few years, noting that the necessary financial allocations are ready.
Arnous expressed his hope that South African companies will take part in the process where the Syrian side can benefit from their experience and expertise in the fields of construction, building materials, techniques, machine parts and modern equipment.
For his part, Byneveldt expressed his country’s readiness to contribute in the reconstruction process in Syria.
He even went beyond that to say that he will contact Syrian businessmen and the government to have a Syrian delegation formed from private and public sectors and visit South Africa to discuss issues of cooperation.
South Africa’s experience in civil aviation also can be of benefit to Syria, as Minister of Transport Ghazwan Kheir Bek said in his meeting with the South African Ambassador held later on the day.
The Minister called for holding meetings of technicians from both sides to study transport projects issues so that to arrive at agreed formulas of cooperation to provide the necessary requirements and equipment for airports’ work and railways as well, to which the South African Ambassador agreed.
Manar al-Frieh/Haifa Said