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the two regional powerhouses, as Saudi King Abdullah wrapped up a
visit to Syria, state news SANA reported. Syria Finance Minister
Mohammed al-Hussein and his Saudi counterpart, Ibrahim Assaf, said
the volume of trade, now only two billion dollars (1. 4 billion euros)
a year, will 'begin growing in the coming days,' SANA said. 'We
have decided to remove the difficulties hindering commercial
exchanges, notably the taxes recently imposed by Syria on products
exported to Saudi Arabia,' such as olive oil and ceramics, Hussein
was quoted as saying. For his part, Assaf spoke of King Abdullah's
visit, his first since acceding to the throne in 2005, as 'very
important for strengthening economic relations' between the two
countries. On Wednesday, the king and Assad agreed to ' remove the
obstacles' to closer ties between the two powerhouses long at odds.
The two leaders underlined their 'commitment to pursue coordination
and consultations at all levels on matters that interest both
peoples,' SANA said, and want to 'remove the obstacles that have
hindered their relations.' Ties between Damascus and Riyadh
deteriorated in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq over Saudi
support for the United States. Relations soured further after the
assassination in 2005 of ex-Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri. Hariri,
who also held Saudi nationality, was close to the monarchy in the
oil-rich Gulf state and had extensive business interests in the
kingdom. There were widespread suspicions that Syria was behind
the killing, something Damascus has consistently denied. The son
of the slain premier, himself chosen to form a new government after
winning elections in June, has so far failed because of continuing
differences with the Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition, led by
Shiite party Hezbollah. But there has been widespread speculation
in Lebanon that Abdullah's visit could spell a breakthrough on that
front. Riyadh has also been at odds with Damascus over its warm
relations with Saudi Arabia's rival Iran and its support for
Hezbollah. In early July, Riyadh named a new ambassador to Syria
after leaving the post vacant for a year, and a visit by Abdullah has
been in the works since that time, Saudi officials say. The
rapprochement comes at the same time as a cautious warming takes
place between Damascus and Saudi ally Washington under President
Barack Obama.
