TEHRAN – Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) held a meeting on Sunday with Syrian Ambassador to Tehran Adnan Hassan Mahmoud in which he stressed the significance of signing a free trade agreement between the two sides.

“With the signing of a free trade agreement between Iran and Syria, there will be good days in trade between the two countries,” Gholam-Hossein Shafeie said in the meeting.

As reported by the ICCIMA portal, the meeting was also attended by the Chairman of Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce Keyvan Kashefi.

Speaking in the meeting, Shafeie noted that Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture has not invested as much in any country as Syria.

Referring to the Iranian Trade Center in Damascus, he said: "This trade center is one of the largest centers of Iranian trade abroad, which can play an important role in the development of trade between the two countries."

Mahmoud for his part praised the efforts of the heads of the Iran chamber of commerce and the Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce to improve the level of trade relations between the two countries.

The official pointed to the two countries’ strong will for strengthening economic and industrial relations, both in public and private sectors and said: "We make every effort to neutralize the impact of sanctions on the economies of the two countries and we will strengthen trade relations between the two sides.”

Earlier on Sunday, Kashefi had announced the official inauguration of the Iranian trade center in Damascus.

“This trade center has been opened with the aim of realizing the goal for $1 billion of annual exports to Syria,” Keyvan Kashefi said.

Iran and Syria agreed on the establishment of an Iranian trade center in Damascus's free zone back in January. The decision was made during a visit by an Iranian economic delegation to Syria.

The two countries have been exchanging numerous trade delegations in the past few months and Iranian private companies are investing in different areas like providing construction materials especially cement and working on several reconstruction projects in Syria.

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ICCIMA Head Gholam-Hossein Shafeie (R) and Syrian Ambassador to Tehran Adnan Hassan Mahmoud meet in Tehran on Sunday.