DAMASCUS Director of Iran's pavilion at the Damascus International Trade Fair Ali Akbar Khatibi said here on Saturday that Syria is a suitable market for Iran's industrial goods and products.
Khatibi told IRNA on Saturday that expert estimates over the past two years point to the fact that the country is a suitable market for variety of industrial machinery, including cutting and welding equipment, car manufacturing systems and the oil and petrochemical industries.
He said that Iran's heavy machines have won the Syrian market presently.
132 industrial and commercial institutions represent Iran at the 7th Damascus International Trade Fair, that opened on September 1. it is to end on September 15.
Khatibi said that Syria has signed free trade pact with Arab states and by 2007 the trade duties would hit zero level. "We should be after signing such contracts with Syria to compete in the country's market," he added.
"If we fail to sign the free trade deals, we should seriously think on preferential tariffs, or else the duties levied on our products and goods would be at times higher than that of similar goods produced by Arab countries," said Khatibi.
This year, Iran tried to concentrate on industrial sector at the fair, said Khatibi, adding that more than 80 percent of companies attending the fair were industrial companies.
He said the Iranian banks based in Lebanon have provided the Iranian merchants with the chance to open letters of credit account, thus making commercial exchanges easier.
Over the past few years, the Syrian traders did not know Iranian goods but now the Iranian goods are well-known in the industrial sector and the customer relies on Iranian label, he added.
He said the transportation cost and duties levied on the containers and lorries coming to Syria are the most important problems facing Iran-Syria trade.
Compared to Turkey, the expenditures are high to the effect that the situation deprives Iran of the chance to compete in the area of many goods such as house appliances.
"We should benefit from very good political ties between Iran and Syria and remove current barriers to raise commercial cooperation," he added.
He said two Iranian companies have entered talks with Syrians to concluded cooperation agreement.
The electronics industry companies have held talks with various counterparts and have had good progress in the field of transfer of technology and formation of joint cooperation groups, he said.
"We should try and concentrate our efforts in Syria's industrial sector and main infrastructures because Iran enjoys high potential in rendering technical and technological services," said Khatibi.
Meanwhile, an export expert at an Iranian car manufacturing company Hassan Aqa Sadeqi said that Syrians are not well familiar with Iran's industrial potential and that is the reason why they enter cooperation with Iranians halfheartedly.
Morteza Saeidian, another expert, said the exhibition had been helpful.
He said that his company, Pars Khodro', had talks with Syrian Transportation Ministry to provide the ministry with urban transportation services.
Mostafa Soltani, the representative of Iran's Carpet joint Stock Company, said since import of carpet to Syria is forbidden, virtually there is no market for Iranian carpet in the country.
But Syria is a potentially good market for Iranian carpet in view of the country's folklore and visit of western tourists to the country, said Soltani, adding that Iranian statesmen should explore strategies for introduction of Iranian carpet into the Syrian market.
Abbas Kazemi, director of the Public Relations Department at Iran's Petrochemical Company, said that his company would probably open a representative office in Damascus.
(IRNA)