Turkish Parliament And Syrian People's Assembly Sign Memorandum Of Understanding

ANKARA - Turkish Parliament and Syrian People's Assembly signed on Tuesday memorandum of understanding envisaging cooperation.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and Syrian People's Assembly Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash.
The memorandum of understanding was signed following tete-a-tete meeting of Arinc and al-Abrash and delegations of the parliaments of the two countries.
Arinc and al-Abrash made a joint statement to press following the signing of the memorandum.
Arinc said the visit was very important as al-Abrash was the first Syrian People's Assembly Speaker visiting Turkey.
Emphasizing that relations between Turkey and Syria were gradually improving, Arinc said the memorandum of understanding was signed aiming to improve relations between the two parliaments.
Arinc said he and Al-Abrash discussed regional issues like situation in Iraq and Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Stating that Turkey respected territorial integrity of all its neighbors, Arinc said there was a consensus of opinion to restore a fair and permanent peace in the Middle East.
Al-Abrash in his part said he and Arinc shared similar views on issues they discussed, and stressed that, ''we favor improvement of relations between Turkey and Syria in every area.''
The memorandum of understanding envisages cooperation and coordination on international parliament conferences and platforms and also joint efforts towards upgrading living standards of the peoples of Turkey and Syria.
The memorandum of understanding also foresees exchange of experience between the two parliaments and reciprocal visits among experts of the two parliaments to improve dialogue and cooperation.
(AY) 14.09.2004