Jordan, Syria to sign 13 deals

By Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN - Jordan and Syria are scheduled to sign 13 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) during the two countries' higher committee meeting slated to take place today, the government said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, who starts a two-day visit to Syria today, accompanied by a delegation of seven ministers, will co-chair the meetings with his Syrian counterpart Mohammad Otri, Minister of Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Nabil Sharif told The Jordan Times yesterday.

"The meetings reflect the two sides' keenness to develop bilateral ties in all respects to serve the interests of the two peoples," Sharif said.

The meetings were supposed to take place during the holy month of Ramadan but were delayed; the two sides stopped short of elaborating on the reasons behind the delay, but the health situation of Otri was cited on one occasion.

The sessions come after the technical committee of the Joint Jordanian-Syrian Higher Committee, on September 26, finalized drafting the agreements and the MoUs to be signed between the two sides, Sharif said.

However, according to Sharif, the border demarcation agreement will not be signed during the meetings due to the fact that the technical committee has yet to finalize the agreement, stressing that the reason was purely "technical and not for any differences between the two parties".

The minister said the deals will cover water, transportation and planning among other important sectors, noting that as far as the Jordanian side is concerned, the government will focus on the important role of the private sector in both countries in boosting joint investments and commercial cooperation, in addition to facilitating the entry of Jordanian medical exports into the Syrian market.

Sharif said relevant ministers from both countries will also sign agreements in the fields of exchanging media expertise and production, cooperation in the higher education sector, and transportation of goods and individuals.