By Xinhua,
Damascus : Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdullah al-Dardari is to embark on a two-day visit to France on Monday in efforts to boost bilateral economic cooperation.
The trip was scheduled to “follow up the outcome of the successful visit” of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to France and his talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy a week ago, said the official SANA news agency.
Dardari will hold talks with French officials, including ministers of economy, industry and employment, and the French President’s General Secretary Claude Gueant, to discuss the future of economic and technical cooperation between the two countries, said SANA.
Talks will focus on bolstering cooperation in the field of transport, particularly in civil aviation, railroads and marine transport, as well as cooperation in the fields of energy, gas, petroleum and electricity.
Cooperation in communications, the use of information technology to support economic and social development, and cooperation to support the process of economic and institutional reform and capability-building will also be discussed, SANA said.
In a recent press statement, Dardari revealed a more detailed plan in seeking cooperation with French companies during his stay in France, saying he would discuss with personnels of Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer, to complete a deal to buy 50 aircraft in the next twenty years.
He said he is scheduled to hold talks with the world’s fourth-largest oil and gas company Total to renew contract for oil production.
Dardari will also seek to obtain the French government’s support for these deals and a loan worth of 50 million euros, said informed Syrian sources.
Meanwhile, Dardari is due to endeavor to secure the signing of a partnership agreement between the European Union and Syria, which was initialed in late 2004 but long-stalled after the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri in 2005, said the sources.
Damascus was believe to have orchestrated the killing, but it denies any involvement.
Syria was the only country that did not sign an association agreement with the EU under the Barcelona process, which was started in 1995 to foster dialogue between EU member states and countries on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean.
During a Paris summit last week, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana did not rule out the signature by the end of the year of the pact, saying “I don’t want to say if it’s possible today or tomorrow, but I think it’s possible.”
The Paris summit, grouping more than 40 leaders from the EU and countries bordering the Mediterranean, including Syrian President Assad, agreed to launch a Mediterranean Union proposed by France to upgrade the Barcelona Process.
Assad’s appearance at the Paris summit marked an end to its isolation by the international community after the Hariri killing and a detente between the EU countries, particularly France, and Syria.
French President Sarkozy, who welcomed Assad at the Elysee palace for talks, would pay a visit to Syria before mid-September, which would be prepared during Dardari’s visit to Paris, said an Elysee statement last week.