Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday left for a one-day visit to Syria, Turkey's semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Before his departure, Erdogan told reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport that he would meet Syrian President Bashar al- Assad and Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri to discuss bilateral relations and ways to further improve existing cooperation.

He disclosed that a free trade agreement will be put into effect as of Jan. 1, 2007, noting that Syria is an important regional country with which Turkey has good neighborly relations.

"Our economic and commercial relations will be speeded up after the agreement is put into force," he said.

On the Middle East issues, Erdogan said that he would discuss with Syrian side regional topics and exchange views on possible contributions of regional countries to the peace and stability in the region.

"Together with all neighboring countries, we want to do something and contribute to the situation in not only Lebanon but also in Palestine and Iraq," he stressed.

Source: Xinhua