Damascus, (SANA)- Syrian government has opened the door for the private sector to make investment projects in the various sectors to reach a strategic public-private partnership to boost economic and social development.

These steps and others have improved investment environment in Syria which has been attracting a growing number of Arab and foreign investors.

The Arab Businessmen and Investors Conference and the Syrian-Saudi Businessmen Forum held recently in Damascus showed an increasing foreign interest in investment in Syria.

Saudi Foreign Minister of Finance Ibrahim al-Assaf said in a statement to SANA "The Syrian-Saudi Committee seeks to achieve balance of the investment influx between both sides and expand them to include different sectors."

Secretary General of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry Fahd al-Sultan expected more Saudi capitals to flow into the Syrian investment market. Chairman of the Board of Directors of General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Mohammad Abdulfattah al-Masri told SANA "There are many investment opportunities available in Syria," pointing to Porto Tartous Project which will be carried out by Egyptian investors with an approximate cost of USD 1.2 billion.

Chairman of Kuwaiti Chamber of Industry and Commerce Ali Mohammad al-Ghanim said many Arab investors have become more convinced of the need to invest in the Arab region after past years' experiments have proved that revenues yielded from investment in the Arab world are better than those coming through investment abroad.

Resident Representative of the UN Development Program Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said Syria has recently witnessed a revolution in the number of new laws and legislations that helped improve investment environment and attract more investors.

H. Said /Mazen