NEWSRAEL: This report should be seen as a huge effort by Iran to entrench itself in Syria. On the other hand are Russia, Israel, and to an extent the US Coalition to try to stop these Iranian efforts. 

The head of the Iran-Syrian Chamber of Commerce, Kiwan Kashefi, said the volume of Iranian exports of goods to Syria recorded 90% growth from March to December of last year, the Iranian news agency ISNA reported.

Kashfi explained that during this period his country exported $160 million of Iranian goods to Syria, noting that "this volume recorded a 90 percent growth compared to the same period last year, then, at that time, $84 million of goods were exported to Syria, and most of these goods include industrial products, food, and medicine.

He added, "Iran has managed to export $35 billion worth of goods to various parts of the world," noting that Syria ranks "21st in the world among the target countries for exporting Iranian goods."

Iranian "economic" delegations

The Minister of Economy and Internal Trade of the Syrian government, Samer al-Khalil, announced the agreement to establish a joint free trade area with Iran, in which no tariffs will be imposed on some of the products.

Al-Khalil said that "the focus was on increasing the volume of trade exchanges, overcoming the whole obstacle to product exchange between the two countries, so that it would be smooth and fast, and increasing the means of transport in both directions, by sea, land and air transport, with emphasis on speed of goods. The two countries, "the Syrian newspaper close to the regime reported, al-Watan.

An Iranian economic delegation, led by Housing and Infrastructure Minister Rustam Qasmi, arrived in Damascus on Tuesday to discuss "ways to develop bilateral economic cooperation" and a "railway linking project between Iran, Iraq, and Syria."

After his meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad, Qasmi said, "We discussed the issue of linking the railway between Iran and Iraq from there to Syria, but this matter will take time because there are some problems with the railway infrastructure in Syria."

Qasmi also met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and discussed with him, according to the SANA news agency, "the importance of establishing new projects that will bring strategic benefits to both Syria and Iran and link the business sectors of the two countries."