Britain's Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) has restored medium-term insurance cover for Syria; the British embassy said Thursday October 4 in a press release.
"British companies doing serious business with Syria will now consult ECGD at the earliest opportunity during contract negotiations," the embassy added, saying the insurance will be granted on a "case by case basis."
"We hope this decision will increase bilateral trade and open prospects for British investors in Syria," the embassy's commercial secretary, John Chadwick, told AFP. He said the ECGD has acted upon recommendations made by an evaluation team, which came to Syria in May.
ECGD suspended its cover of Syria in the 1970s. Syria stepped up measures to reform and open up its economy after President Bashar Al-Assad took office one year ago. According to British embassy figures for 2000, Britain's exports to Syria stood at £71.4 million (114 million euros), and its imports of Syrian goods amounted to £56.8 million (90 million euros).
Oil and textiles make up most of Syria's exports to Britain, while chemicals and industrial machinery are the main British exports to Syria. — (AFP, Damascus)
© Agence France Presse
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
