Syrian PM calls for more Turkish investment

"Syria easily maintained the passage of Turkish products to the countries in the Gulf region and Africa. Especially in the last two years, Syria has undertaken important legal reforms to attract foreign investment. We see a serious increase in foreign investments after these reforms," said Otri in an interview with the Anatolia news agency yesterday.

Otri said the current trade volume between the two countries has reached around $1 billion, but this was not enough, adding their target for the end of this year was $2 billion.

"Our grandfathers were friends with Turks, why wouldn’t we be? Invest in our country and you will feel like your at home. We have close cultural, religious and lingual ties," Otri added.

Political and economic relations between the one-time foes — due to a border dispute, rows over shared water resources and Syria’s long-time tacit support for Kurdish separatists in Turkey — have improved significantly especially after Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s landmark visit to Turkey in January.

Asked about U.S. policies concerning the Middle East, Otri said: "I find the policy the U.S. has been following in the region very dangerous and wrong. We have always displayed good will towards the U.S., but despite our good will, they always encouraged Israel. And Israel launched massacres against the Palestinians with this U.S. encouragement. The embargoes the U.S. has imposed on us are unjust. Syria has always been in efforts for regional peace."

Washington approved at the end of last year legislation directed at punishing Syria for alleged ties to terrorists, tacit support for insurgents in Iraq and efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction.

Syria also has battered ties with Israel, which accuses Damascus of harboring Palestinian terrorist groups and Hizbollah and allowing money transfers from Iran to terrorists.