Tuzmen: We Attribute Great Importance To Improvement Of Relations With Syria

ALEPPO - Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen responsible for foreign trade said on Saturday that they attributed great importance to improvement of relations between Turkey and Syria.
Speaking at the opening of Turkish-Syrian Business Partnership Seminar held in Aleppo, Tuzmen said the seminar would improve economic cooperation between the two countries and prepare a basis for ''free trade agreement''.
Tuzmen said trade volume between Turkey and Syria was 800 million U.S. dollars last year, stressing that they targeted to increase this figure to two billion U.S. dollars by the end of this year.
Tuzmen said, ''improvement in economic relations will also improve friendship relations. We see that countries having trade volume more than two billion U.S. dollars do not have problems. As the neighboring countries we are in a sensitive region, we should embrace each other.''
Tuzmen said, ''we are in an effort to open new customs gates to improve foreign trade and set up trade zones.''
(AY) 29.05.2004