Syria and Iran sign long-term oil and trade agreements

(Patria) - The presidents of Iran and Syria signed a series of long-term cooperation agreements in the oil and other sectors to strengthen economic ties between the two allies, AP reported.

Ebrahim Raisi, who led a large Iranian economic and political delegation, met with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, arriving on a two-day visit - the first visit of an Iranian president to Damascus since 2010. The last Iranian president to visit Syria was President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Syrian state media reported that Raisi and Assad signed agreements and memorandums of understanding related to several sectors, including oil, agriculture, railways, and free trade zones.

Iran's state railway company has long sought to expand its network through neighboring Iraq and Syria, connecting it to the Syrian port of Latakia on the Mediterranean Sea to boost trade. The Syrian opposition and critics of Tehran see this as another attempt by Iran to increase its political influence. The deal is also important for Syria, whose economy has fallen to its lowest level in history in the past decade, with rising inflation, currency depreciation, and major power outages. Raisi's visit comes at a time when some Arab countries, including Egypt and the regional power Saudi Arabia, have been opening up to Assad, and their foreign ministers have visited Damascus in recent weeks. The Syrian Foreign Minister also visited the Saudi capital Riyadh in April, the first such visit since the two countries severed ties in 2012.

In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement, mediated by China, to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. A week before the Iranian president's visit to Damascus, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash met with Assad in the Syrian capital, where he conveyed a message from Raisi supporting the expansion of ties, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.