Türkiye's Trade Minister Omer Bolat has said that his country will help the Syrian government develop institutional capacity and address infrastructure deficiencies.
On a two-day official visit to Syria’s capital, Damascus, on Wednesday and Thursday, a delegation of Turkish business leaders, chamber representatives, and union officials accompanied Bolat.
The minister held bilateral and delegation meetings with his counterparts on various issues, including trade, customs, transportation, investment, finance and banking, contracting, and energy.
He met with Syria’s Economy and Industry Minister Nidal al Shaar, Finance Minister Mohamed Yasser Barnia, Transportation Minister Yarub Suleyman Badr, and land and sea ports chief Kuteybe Ahmed Badawi.
Congratulating Syria on its December 8 revolution last year, which saw the end of the Assad regime, Bolat said Türkiye felt the second-largest impact from Syria’s 13-year civil war.
"President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan of the Republic of Türkiye and our government, our state, and our nation have stood by the Syrian people as a whole and have been very pleased with this revolution. It is our greatest prayer that Syria, as a government, state, and nation, will develop and grow in a strong stability and peace," he said.
"We emphasised that we are open to cooperation with the business world in a wide range of areas, from investment to services, infrastructure, trade in goods, in line with Syria's needs and demands," Bolat said on X about his meeting with al-Sha'ar.
Intense clashes erupted between Syrian government forces and remnants of the ousted Assad regime after they targeted hospitals in the northwestern city of Latakia.
Shared reconstruction vision
On his meeting with Badr, he wrote: "Based on the importance of strong transport and logistics networks for a strong economy, we evaluated the issues of faster and more efficient transitions through customs gates between our countries and the initiation of transit passages that will make Syria a transit base.
As a continuation of the vision set forth by the historical Hejaz Road, we will continue to take the necessary steps to strengthen our transport networks with Syria.”
Underlining that Türkiye will stand by Syria with its experience and production capability, Bolat said during his meeting with businesspeople from the Damascus Chamber of Commerce: "Infrastructure, economic legislation, and institutional capacity are now being reestablished in Syria, and the government of Türkiye will support the development of institutional capacity and infrastructure deficiencies to the extent requested by the Syrian government.”
“Like all ministries in Türkiye, we have been instructed by our president to support Syria. The establishment of a new, free Syria here will be your work and we, as your Muslim brothers and neighbors, have the duty to support you,” he said.
“Considering that the economic integrations established between neighboring countries are stronger, we evaluated steps to be taken for the further development of the commercial and economic relations of the two neighboring countries in the upcoming period," Bolat said on X.
"We are always ready to share our experience and knowledge in all areas, as well as its production and technological capabilities with our Syrian brothers. We will grow stronger together in all areas, including customs, logistics, rehabilitation of industrial zones, joint investments, and a strengthened financial system."
Syrians across the country mark their first Eid al Fitr since the ouster of Bashar al Assad.
