Paris, (SANA) _ The Syrian-French Business Council kicked off officially on Tuesday at Paris Chambers of Commerce and Industry, in presence of Minister of Economy and Trade Amer Hosni Lutfi and French Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Anne-Marie Idrac.

Paris Chambers of Commerce and Industry organized a symposium on prospects of economy in Syria under the title/ Syrian Arab Republic, a Return to the International Economy Scene/.

The symposium included work sessions and discussions which dealt with prospects of investments in Syria in presence of a number of French and Syrian businessmen and Arab and French journalists.

The participants in the symposium reviewed all the economic and investment relations, laws and legislations which Syria has adopted to free its economy.

Participants in the Council talked about the relation between Syria and France which was truly enhanced following the visits of President Bashar al-Assad to France and French President Nicola Sarkozy to Syria.

They also hailed Syria's openness in investment and financial fields on the international economy, and the pivotal role Syria is playing in the region on the political, economic and cultural domains.

In a statement to SANA correspondent, Adrac underlined the clear development of the relation between Syria and France, asserting that there are prospects of developing the economic relations between them.

For his part, Lutfi stressed that the Syrian-French relations have witnessed persistent development on all levels following the visits of President al-Assad to France and French President Sarkozy to Syria, pointing out that the volume of investment of the French companies in Syria has risen during a short period, where it jumped from 200 million euros to 800 million euros.

He expressed hope for cooperation in the economic, trade, cultural and civilization fields. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pierre Simon described Syria as an important country, pointing out that the Syrian-French relations started to witness development in the correct direction, hailing the measures which Syria has adopted on the legislations and laws levels to attract investments.

He added that the Paris Chamber explained the main characteristic of the investment, referring to that the foundation of the Syrian-French Business Council will play main role in this regard.

An agreement on Encouragement and protection of reciprocal investment between Syria and France was signed by Minister Lutfi and French Minister Adrac.

H.Zain/ Idelbi