Naveed Miraj & Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: Syrian Ambassador Dr Ramez Alraee has said that his country was seriously considering improving its economic, educational, tourist and cultural ties with Pakistan.
In an exclusive interview with We News, the Syrian ambassador spoke at length about the evolving situation in region and improving ties among Arab nations. The ambassador said that his appontmernt in Islamabad after over a decade manifested that both the countries wanted to further enhance bilateral ties. Dr Alraee said that Pakistan also extended cooperation by sending humanitarian aid to Syria after an earhquake struck the country in February earlier this year.
He also expressed his gratitude to Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for visiting the Syrian embassy in Islamabad to offer his condolences to the Syrian government and the people after the sad incident of earthquake. He also recalled that Bilawal’s grandfather and former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto also had great cordial and warm relations with former Syrian President late Hafez Al Assad.
“Syria also wants to encourage Pakistani businessmen and tourists to visit Syria as it is more cheaper than Turkey and other tourist spots in the Middle East,” he said. The Syrian ambassador said that his country also has holy places to visit such as the mosque of Sayyedna Hazrat Bilal Habshi (RA), the famous Sahabi-e-Akram and Umahat ul Momeneen Bibi Zainab mosques at Baab-e-Sagheer, a well-known graveyard in Damascus and other Syrian cities like Aleppo and Lattakia.
Ambassador Dr Alraee said that the security situation has limped back to normal in his country and 90 per cent of the area was now under the control of the Syrian government. “This will help all visitors to perform their religious prayers and rituals at these holy places,” he said. He said he recently visited the Quad-e-Azam University Islamabad to seek more scholarship opportunities for Syrian students and offered Arabic language scholarships for Pakistani students.
“The exchange of more students will help boost relations as several Syrian students are already studying in Pakistani medical colleges and universities,” he said. He said that both sides want to further enhance relations significantly. Responding to a question about Syria’s re-entry into Arab League, he said that Syria has a certain point of view in this regard and “we want to focus on collective future challenges being faced by the Arab countries that have common language, geography and history and we should forget whatever happened in the last one decade.”
He also invited Pakistani businessmen to visit Syria to explore options to invest and expand their businesses. “This cooperation will lay a ground for long-term cooperation between the two countries”. The ambassador further said that while Syria was coping with the disaster of earthquake and the world was sending aid to the country, Israeli fighter aircraft started bombing innocent people in several cities including Damascus and Aleppo just two to three days after the earhquake struck the country
“It was again a tragedy as no one in the world raised any concerns (about the Israeli bombing),” he said. He also recalled his recent meeting with Air Commodore (retd) Sattar Alvi who while representing Pakistan air force shot down two Israeli fighter aircraft during the 1973 Arab Israel war, and said the Syrian government and the people never forget the services of such dear friends.
He also mentioned that former prime minister and current National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf also discussed with him to improve bilateral relations during his meeting with him at his office. He said that the Syrian Peoples’ Assembly delegation recently visited Pakistan to show solidarity on the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Answering a question about food delicacies of Syria, Ambassador Alraee said the Syrian food was gaining popularity in Pakistan as several outlets were offering Syrian cuine in major cities such as Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. “This adds value to the rich cultural and heritage relations between the two nations which dates back in history.”
