On May 3, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and an impressive Iranian delegation, with the Iraqi one in the wings, visited Damascus and signed a package of various agreements with the Syrian side
Iran’s influence in Syria has only grown in recent years, but the last visit of this level took place a long time ago, despite the fact that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew to Tehran several times.
Even during the hostilities, when Syria was especially vulnerable and dependent on Iranian assistance, the Islamic Republic did not seek to sign formal agreements and negotiate better terms for itself. However, now the situation has changed.
The main outcome was the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the presidents on a long-term plan for comprehensive strategic cooperation between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This memorandum emphasizes the special nature of Iranian-Syrian relations and sets the main vector for further expansion of cooperation in the long term.
Of course, there are few specifics, but with its help it has demonstrated, including to other external players, the desire to further expand ties and play, as they say, for a long time.
In addition, many memorandums were signed at the level of heads of departments of the two countries.
At the briefing, President Assad noted that the emphasis in this package of agreements was placed precisely on the economy with an eye to the reconstruction of Syria not only after the hostilities, but also after the earthquake.
The official Syrian media, with undisguised enthusiasm, vied with each other to publish articles about the landmark event. And the authors of the Tishrin newspaper went even further and suggested that Syria, Iraq and Iran could potentially form a new strong regional bloc.
However, there were also skeptics who emphasized the declarative and framework nature of the overwhelming majority of signed documents. The package of agreements does not include specific contracts or concession arrangements.
Formally, they are right, but the scale of what happened should not be underestimated, especially if we consider the negotiations held through the prism of the changes taking place in the region.
Raisi’s visit took place exactly a few days before the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League countries, at which, as the Iranians already knew, a resolution would be adopted to return Syria to the “Arab family”. Consequently, such major states of the region as the UAE and Saudi Arabia will receive new opportunities to expand their influence in Syria.
These are serious players. With sufficient resources and influence, they are able to challenge Iran’s dominant role in Syria. The same Saudi Arabia, despite the warming of relations with the Persians through Chinese mediation, is not inclined to forget about its interests.
It is in this vein, first of all, that the current visit of the Iranian delegation should be regarded. Iran is in a hurry and therefore took care to formally fix its influence. This also speaks of its lack of confidence in its Syrian partner. A war-ravaged country may not be able to resist investments and big money, which the Iranians simply do not have.
The focus of the Iranians on key, in their opinion, points is also characteristic – defense (construction of new military plants), communications and IT (creation of satellites for Syria), maritime and rail transport (synchronization of maritime certificates and activation of railway through communication in the region).
Interbank ties were noted, which, by the way, have not yet worked. In addition, agriculture, the oil industry, the construction sector and, of course, religious tourism to Shiite shrines are traditionally not deprived of attention.
Despite the fact that most of the agreements are of a framework nature, they can already provide further directions for expanding the Iranian presence in the sectors of the Syrian economy. First of all, it is logistics — from restoring key transport infrastructure (airports, roads) to increasing communication and freight traffic both along the road network and, in the future, by rail.
Against the background of even such framework steps with a frequent lack of specifics, Russian attempts to fix their economic presence look even more abstract and weak-willed, and so far have not led to any tangible result. And the majority of draft agreements have been undergoing numerous approvals and examinations for several years now.
However, from May 15, a large Russian delegation is expected to arrive in Damascus under the leadership of the Minister of Construction, Housing and Communal Services, Irek Fayzullin, and a regular meeting of the Russian-Syrian intergovernmental commission. It is planned to sign an agreement similar to the Iranian-Syrian one in order to somehow spur Russian-Syrian economic ties.
Alexey Cherkassky, IA REGNUM
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