Syria and Turkey agreed Wednesday to put into force a free trade zone agreement between the two countries at the beginning of next year, the official SANA news agency reported.

Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdullah al- Dardari discussed the issue with his visiting counterpart Abdullatif Sener during a meeting.

Both sides discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation, particularly in the customs field to develop border posts between the two neighbors.

"To build a genuine partnership and establish different investments we should activate the role of our industrial and trade chambers, businessmen and investors," Dardari noted.

For his part, Sener, also Turkish Minister of State, said that agreements between the two countries would definitely meet the demands of both friendly peoples.

Upon arrival Tuesday evening in Damascus, Sener, who is on a four-day official visit, expressed the hope to increase the volume of trade exchange to one billion U.S. dollars from the current 850 million dollars, SANA said.

Source: Xinhua