Press TV - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the development of economic cooperation with Iran and all the countries that insist on defending their sovereignty and independence is one of the most important ways to confront Western plots.

Assad made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi in Damascus on Friday.

He added that Western powers are resorting to sanctions and coercive economic measures as a means to impose restrictions on nations and obliging them to bow to their hegemonic policies.

Akhoundi, in turn, congratulated the Syrian president and people on the continuous achievements made by the Arab country's Army and its allies in the fight against terrorism.

The Iranian minister affirmed the Islamic Republic's continuous support for Syria in various fields and expressed Tehran's readiness to play an active role in the reconstruction process of the war-ravaged country.

The Iranian minister and Syrian president also discussed brotherly ties between Tehran and Damascus, especially in the economic sector and said both sides are determined to boost relations to the level of the standing strategic political and military cooperation.

Iran has been providing military advisory support to Syria as well as Iraq in their campaign against terrorism at the request of the two countries’ governments.

A senior Iranian official said late in January that Iranian military advisory forces entered Syria at the request of the Syrian government and would leave the Arab country after the success of the fight against terrorism.



"Iranian forces entered Syria at the request of the Syrian government in order to help Syrian government in the battle against terrorism in Syria," said Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the Iranian foreign minister’s senior assistant for special political affairs in the Russian resort of Sochi.

Iran, Syria sign economic MoU

Iran and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to boost economic cooperation.

The MoU was signed by Akhoundi and Syrian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad Samer al-Khalil.