Syria, U.A.E. hold economic talks

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, April 2 (UPI) -- Syrian officials sat down with their counterparts from the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss bilateral economic ties in the non-oil sector.

Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri, the United Arab Emirates economic minister, met Thursday with the Syrian envoy to the federation in Dubai, Rostom al-Zoubi.

Mansouri called for an increase in bilateral ties in the economic, trade and investment sectors of both countries, the Emirates News Agency reports.

Non-oil trade between both countries stood at $380 million for 2007. About $260 million of that was in exports to Syria.

Both officials also addressed the impact the global economic recession had on the regional Arab economy.

The meeting comes on the heels of a Tuesday meeting between the Emirati envoy to Syria, Salim Isa al-Qattam al-Za'abi, and the Syrian deputy premier for economic affairs, Abdullah al-Dardari.

Both countries have forged stronger ties in recent years in a relationship that is considered to be based on strategic coherence.