Damascus, (SANA)-Syria will host the first Syrian-Saudi Businessmen Forum on March 6-7 with the participation of over 200 high-profile companies. Minister of Finance Mohammad al-Hussein announced in a press conference on Sunday with the Saudi Ambassador in Damascus Abdullah al-Eifan that the Forum will be held in coincidence with the Syrian-Saudi Ministerial Committee meetings.

He said that his ministry has been preparing for the Forum in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Finance and Economy and in coordination with the Syrian Investment Commission and the Saudi Embassy.

Al-Hussein expressed hope that the Forum will contribute to boosting economic relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia based on the directives of both countries' leaderships.

The Forum will include work sessions on the advantages and opportunities of investment in Syria and issues related to many other sectors.

Minister al-Hussein asserted that Syria is working on upgrading the economic relations with Saudi Arabia to the level of the political ones and benefiting from both countries' capabilities serving their best interest.

For his part, the Saudi Ambassador pointed out that the Forum will include an intensive dialogue between high ranking officials and businessmen from both countries in addition to reviewing the successful Saudi investments in Syria and the bilateral sessions between companies and businessmen of both sides.

Al-Eifan affirmed his country's keenness on boosting its relations with Syria in all domains, pointing out that the Forum and the meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee constitute a suitable opportunity for discussing means of consolidating bilateral relations and activating the signed agreements between the two sides.

He added that the Syrian-Saudi political relations are rapidly developed, underlining the necessity of benefiting from both countries' expertise and capabilities for developing the economic relations and the joint investments and to increase the volume of inter-trade in the interest of the two brotherly countries.

He went on to say "I sensed a great keenness and desire to the Saudi investors to carry out investment projects in many important sectors in Syria that would achieve an additional value in the Syrian economy," calling upon the Syrian businessmen to carry out investment projects in Saudi Arabia.

Haifa Said /Ruaa al-Jazaeri/ Mazen