Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahman Yussufi held talks here Monday October 22 with President Bashar al-Assad on the latest developments on the Arab and wider international scenes, Syria's official SANA agency reported.
The talks also focused on means of "strengthening Syrian-Moroccan cooperation" and the first session of the joint commission on cooperation, co-chaired by Youssoufi and his Syrian counterpart Mohammad Mustafa Miro.
The men earlier discussed the various agreements expected to be reached by their two countries, including the setting up of a free trade zone, as well as deals in the fields of investment, tourism and environment, SANA said.
Trade between Syria and Morocco soared to $20 million in 2000 from 14 million the previous year, the agency added. During their meeting, the two men condemned "terrorism in all its forms" and accused Israel of hampering the Middle East peace process.
Youssoufi reiterated "Morocco's support for the Palestinian people's struggle for the creation of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," while Miro paid homage to "the Palestinian people's intifada against Israel's occupation forces."
Miro also reiterated Damascus' call for "a fair and comprehensive peace based on UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338," stipulating an Israeli withdrawal from the territories occupied after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The Moroccan prime minister arrived Sunday in Damascus for an official three-day visit. He flew in from Lebanon, where he chaired a meeting of their joint commission on cooperation with his Lebanese counterpart Rafiq Hariri. — (AFP, Damascus)
@ Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
