Syria, Jordan agree to boost economic ties

DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) -- Syria and Jordan ended top-level talks in Damascus on Friday by signing four agreements aimed at improving economic ties, officials said.

They said the higher Syrian-Jordanian committee, co-chaired by Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa Mero and his Jordanian counterpart Ali Abu al-Ragheb, also called for the establishment of joint agricultural and industrial projects.

The ministers of agriculture, transportation and tourism signed three separate agreements while officials from the industry ministries signed another deal to cooperate in the specification and standardization fields.

Minutes of the meeting, signed by both prime ministers, indicated that the discussion covered progress in linking the two countries' electricity grids as part of a regional project including Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and Turkey.

The energy ministers reported that work was nearing completion and the network would be operational within the next few weeks, the officials said.

They said the meeting also approved executive measures to start construction of a dam on the river Yarmouk, on the Syrian-Jordanian border, which will hold 225 million cubic meters (eight billion cubic feet) of water, at a cost of over $150 million.

Ties between the two Arab neighbors, strained following the 1994 signing of Amman's peace deal with Israel that was described at the time by Damascus as favoring Israel, started to improve nearly 18 months ago.

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who died in June, put aside his criticism of Jordan and attended the funeral of the late Jordanian monarch King Hussein in February 1999.

New Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, son of the late Syrian leader who took office in July, has ordered the supply of 3.5 million cubic meters of fresh drinking water free of charge to Jordan and the water started to flow last week.

Bashar and King Abdullah of Jordan have also developed a strong relationship.

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