The presidents of Iran and Syria signed Wednesday a series of long-term cooperation agreements on oil and other sectors to bolster economic ties between the two allies.
Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi, leading a large economic and political delegation, met with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, after landing in the war-torn country for a two-day visit — an Iranian president’s first visit to Damascus since 2010.
Tehran has been a main backer of Assad’s government since a 2011 uprising turned into full-blown civil war and has played an instrumental role in turning the tide of the conflict in his favour.
Iran has sent scores of military advisers and thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the Middle East to Syria to fight on Assad’s side. Tehran has also been an economic lifeline for Assad, sending fuel and credit lines worth billions of dollars.
Syrian government forces have regained control of large parts of the country in recent years, with the help of its two main allies — Russia and Iran.
Syrian state media said Raisi and Assad signed agreements and memorandums of understanding related to several sectors, including oil, agriculture, railways and free trade zones.
Iran’s state-owned railway company has long aspired to expand its network through neighbouring Iraq and Syria, linking it to the Syrian port of Lattakia on the Mediterranean Sea to boost trade. Syria’s opposition and Tehran critics see this as another Iran attempt at growing its political influence.
The deal are important also for Syria, whose economy has hit an all-time low over the past decade, with spiralling inflation, a currency plunge and rampant power cuts.
In an interview with pan-Arab television channel Al-Mayadeen ahead of his visit, Raisi called for reconstruction efforts and for Syrian refugees who fled the country’s war to return home.
“Syria’s government and people have gone through great hardship,” Syrian state media quoted Raisi as telling Assad during their meeting. “Today, we can now say that you have overcome all these problems and were victorious, despite the threats and sanctions imposed against you.”
Raisi was also to visit the Sayida Zeinab and Sayida Ruqayya shrines, both holy sites in Shiite Islam, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a monument dedicated to Syrian soldiers killed in battle. The last Iranian president to visit Syria was President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2010.