Syria and Turkey to boost trade

Tuzmen, who arrived in Damascus accompanied by some 200 Turkish businessmen, said talks in Damascus were focusing on co-operation in the tourism, transport and building sectors, the official Sana news agency reported.The two sides are also discussing setting up trade centres on their common borders, Sana said, as well as plans for a free trade accord.
"After the liberalisation of trade between Syria and Turkey soon … the volume of investments will rise," Tuzmen said.
"Turkish capital will then pour into Syria," he added.
Turkish-Syrian relations have markedly improved since 1998, when a war was averted between the two nations only after Damascus agreed to evict Turkish Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan from Syria.More recently, the two have co-operated in regional efforts to prevent a US-led war against Iraq, their common neighbour.