QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Iran seeks to control the Syrian economy as the Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Rostam Qasemi announced yesterday they had an agreement to start a joint bank with Syria.
An Iranian commercial delegation headed by Qasemi arrived in Damascus on January 12.
The growing role of Iran in Syria has come since 2011 after Arab and foreign countries boycotted the Syrian government and stopped dealing with the Central Bank of Syria and the industrial projects, and blocked the credit accounts of Syrian officials.
New Iranian projects
In 2017, Iran firmed logistically in Syria through opening Tehran-Damascus road and a highway across the middle and north Iraq to Damascus and then to the coastal city of Latakia reaching Lebanon.
The road marks a major role for Iran in the region increasing its non-oil exports to Syria and all Arab countries, and its products will have the advantage of cheapness for less transporting costs.
“A joint bank will be opened and under it there will be mutual local banks between both countries,” Qasemi said.
He noted to different decisions that was made especially constructing joint free trade zones, as it is scheduled that the head of Iranian Free Zones Organization to visit Syria to have an agreement in this sector.
The Iranian minister pointed out that it was agreed to increase the manufacturing of Iranian products in Syria like trucks and agricultural equipment and there will be no custom duty in addition to promoting the cross-border exports.
Iran has had previous statements that the support it will provide to Syria will not be limited to the military side only, and that the military agreement is the beginning of economic, commercial, medical, and scientific agreements.
Increasing Iranian exports
On January 13, the head of Syrian-Iranian Chamber of Commerce Kiwan Kashfi announced the exports of Iran to Syria had been increased 90% from March to the end of 2021.
Kashfi said to ISNA news agency that the Iranian exports cost during those months was 160 million dollars.
He added that the cost of the same period last year was 84 million dollars, that means the Iranian exports increased by 90%.
Kashfi pointed that the exports to Syria were manufacture equipment, food and medicine. Syria ranked 21st among the importing countries of Iranian goods.
At the beginning of December 2021, Iran’s Trade Center was opened in the free zone in Damascus with the presence of the Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin.
The Trade Center includes some Iranian companies specialized in trade, industry and agriculture and constructions equipment.
According to supervisors, Iran seeks to expand its control in Syria, via long term economic agreements with Damascus, the most important one is cooperative economic agreement in banking, financing, constructing and reconstruction at the end of 2019.
Iran has the economic priority
At the end of November 2021, the Syrian Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Amr Salem said in a meeting with Fatemi Amin that Iran has the economic priority in Syria.
Salem noted, there are 1,400 sales outlets of the Syrian Trade Company where the Iranian goods and products can be supplied in competitive and suitable costs.
According to supervisors, the Syrian government hands over the functions of the national economy to a foreign country, the matter portends an economy catastrophe takes away the politic and economic decision from the Syrians.