Regarding the Iranian shopping mall in Damascus, he said: “This shopping centre is one of the largest centres of Iranian trade abroad, which can play an important role in the development of trade between the two countries.” “With the signing of a free trade agreement between Iran and Syria, there will be good days in trade between the two countries,” Gholam-Hossein Shafeie said at the meeting. Following the Syrian civil war in the spring of 2011 and the resulting escalation of violence and human rights violations, the EU suspended bilateral cooperation with the Syrian government and froze the draft Association Agreement. Since then, the EU has suspended the participation of the Syrian authorities in its regional programmes. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has suspended all lending and technical assistance. The EU has imposed targeted sanctions, including an arms embargo, an asset freeze and travel ban for government members, as well as an oil embargo. Syria then suspended its membership and participation in the Union for the Mediterranean. The EU delegation in Syria remained open until December 2012. [3] In December 2012, the EU accepted the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as a “legitimate representative” of the Syrian people. [3] These two countries have exchanged numerous trade delegations in recent months, and Private Iranian companies are investing in various sectors such as the supply of building materials, especially cement, and are working on several reconstruction projects in Syria.
In January, Iran and Syria agreed on the creation of an Iranian shopping mall in the Damascus Free Zone. The decision was taken during a visit by an Iranian economic delegation to Syria. Earlier, Kashefi announced on Sunday the official opening of the Iranian shopping mall in Damascus. Syria and the EU have negotiated an association agreement. However, the signing of the ASSOCIATION agreement ENTRE the EU and Syria has been suspended by the EU due to the internal situation in Syria and, over time, the legal texts of the agreement have become obsolete. Continued internal repression in Syria has also led to restrictive measures on the part of the EU and has a considerable impact on bilateral trade. “This mall was opened with the aim of meeting the goal of $1 billion in annual exports to Syria,” said Keyvan Kashefi. Article IV Both parties agree to grant each other, subject to their respective laws and regulations, the possibilities of organising fairs and exhibitions in their respective territories. Bilateral relations between the EU and Syria are governed by the cooperation agreement signed in 1977, but they are currently exposed to trade in crude oil, petroleum products, gold, precious metals and diamonds. For his part, Mahmoud praised the efforts of the leaders of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and the Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce to improve the level of trade relations between the two countries.
Before the war, the EU was Syria`s largest trading partner, with 3.6 billion euros in EU merchandise exports to Syria and Syrian exports to the EU. Total trade amounted to EUR 7.18 billion in 2010 and the EU is Syria`s largest trading partner (Syria being the 50th largest in the EU), with 22.5% of trade. [9] Bilateral trade has contracted since the war to reach EUR 1.45 billion in 2013, representing a 91% decrease in exports from Syria and a 61% decrease in EU exports compared to 2011. [3] The official referred to the strong will of both countries to strengthen economic and industrial relations, both in the public and private sectors, and said: “We are doing everything in our power to neutralize the impact of sanctions on the economies of both countries and we will strengthen trade relations between the two sides.” Article VI Both sides pledge to cooperate in the mutual interest to strengthen economic relations between the two countries and to support the exchange and exploitation of scientific and technical knowledge, including by offering, in the