Damascus, Nov 15: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today called for "durable partnerships" with Syria stressing that the presence of Indian oil majors and cooperation in biotechnology as well as information technology were steps in that direction. Addressing the gathering of dignitaries at the Iftar banquet hosted by the Syrian President Bashar al Assad in his honour, Vajpayee said the new relationship would help exploit economic opportunities.
After signing nine substantive agreements in various spheres and holding summit level talks, India and Syria were now ready to exploit the potential created by the new economic environment, he said.
"We can now move decisively to create durable partnerships in specific areas like infrastructure, energy exploitation and services" he said "the presence of Indian oil companies in Syria and the establishment of concrete symbols of our partnership in biotechnology and information technology are pointers in the right direction". Bureau Report