Prime Minister Erdogan visits Damascus

Years of tension in Turkish-Syrian relations particularly due to the presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Syrian land cooled off in the wake of signing the Adana Protocol in 1998. Ankara welcomed Syrian President Basher Assad’s visit in January with the highest level of hospitality.

Assad is known to attach importance to developing relations with Turkey in every field, as well as furthering cooperation on bilateral and regional issues. Ankara and Damascus admitted they shared a common view over the crucial importance of the territorial integrity of Iraq.

Turkey and Syria are expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement during Erdogan’s visit, said the agency. Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun and Syrian Industry Minister Ghassan Tayyara initiated a Good Will Protocol yesterday in Ankara.

A Turkey-Syria Joint Economic Cooperation meeting was held for the first time during the first Syrian Prime Ministerial visit to Ankara in 2003. Three agreements on "Cooperation on Health," "Cooperation on Natural Gas and Petroleum" and "Cooperation on Customs Matters" were signed then.