DUSHANBE, February 12, Asia-Plus - On February 10, as a results of all official negotiations with participation of Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov and his Syrian counterpart, President Bashar al-Assad, eight bilateral agreements were signed in Damascus, Abdufattoh Sharipov, a spokesman for the Tajik president said. 

According to him, the agreements include accords calling for bilateral economic and scientific cooperation, cultural exchanges, mutual protection of investments, tourism cooperation as well as memorandums of understanding (MoIs) on cooperation in the field of information, on mutual consultations between MFAs of the two countries and on cooperation between Tajikistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Syria’s Association of Chambers of Commerce.

Besides a joint communiqu? on results of President Rahmonov’s visit to Syria was presented to journalists. 

During his stay in Syria, President Rahmonov also visited Syria’s ancient city of Tadmor also known as Palmyra.  Palmyra was in the ancient times an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 kilometers northeast of Damascus.  It has long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert.  The Greek name for the city, Palmyra,   is a translation of its original Aramaic Tadmor, which means ‘palm tree’.  Tadmor is today the name of a small city next to rouins, heavily depedent on tourim.  

During a meeting of Presidetn Rahmonov with the governor of Syria’s Khims province an agreement was reached on declaring Tajikistan’s Kulob and Syria’s Tadmor sister cities.