PRESIDENT ASSAD 2002 LONDON SPEECH (December 17, 2002)
The Right Honorable Lord Mayor of London
Alderman Gavyn Arthur and Lady Mayoress Carole Blackshaw
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of my wife, myself and the Syrian delegation, I would like to thank
the Mayor and the Corporation of London for their kind invitation to be with you
here this evening. It is a great pleasure for us to be with you in this historic
building. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude for
the warm welcome and gracious hospitality that we have received in London. It is
a delightful to be back in London, a city I know well, a city I lived in with
its people and I worked as a doctor on one of its central hospitals, treating
many of its patients. This daily interaction created a long lasting
relationship, which I will always cherish.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Geographic distance between countries has never been an obstacle to creating
fruitful relationships and throughout history we have established relations in
different domains between our two counttries. The Phoenicians reached the
British shores in 1100 B.C. and the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, who is of
Syrian origin, is buired in the city of York when both countries were part of
the Roman Empire. I n the 16th century commercial relations flourished between
Syria and Britain. An agreement signed with the Ottoman Empire, which included
Syria at the time, allowed English traders to take residence in the Northern
city of Aleppo and Syrian traders to take residence in Manchester. It is through
this agreement that the great English poet, William Shakespeare, learned of
Aleppo and mentioned it in his play, Othello.
Today our common interests are even greater and our priority should be to
strengthen our bonds. As the world continues to develop and Information
Communication Technology takes a larger an more significant role in our day
today lives, we are increasingly able to expand our economic reach to far away
lands. However the likelihood of being affected by troubles in other countries
is also much higher. As we cannot hope for prosperity without a sound economy,
we cannot expect a sound
economy without ensuring stability, not only internally or even regionally but
globally. Here lies the importance of replacing reckless policies with rational
policies to establish appropriate conditions to achieve peace which is not
elusive, but real and enduring. This will increase investment opportunities and
economic growth for all people. Thus we are unable to achieve sustainable
economic growth without implementing good policies, and we cannot separate the
politics of a country from its larger economic interests, that go even beyond
its borders.
In this context, Syria has started to implement a wide ranging program of
sustainable development and reform, as well as seeking to achieve just and
comprehensive peace in the region and in the world at large based on UN
resolutions. In our program, in Syria, we focus on banking sector, fiscal
policies, information technology, human resources, training in all fields and
education at all levels. There is no doubt that Britain has made great strides
in various sectors especially in finance and technology and geopolitics. We
admire your achievements and hope to continue to benefit from your
experiences in the development of Syria. I think that the transfer of knowledge
is the responsibility of developed countries towards the rest of the world. The
visit to Syria by Prime Minister Tony Blair gave a big boost to the
relations
between our two countries. In the field of higher education and scientific
research, the cooperation between Syria and Britain encompasses the creation of
an IT strategy in Syria. This is a field where we will be looking for further
cooperation with Britain, specifically in the areas of environmental studies,
business management, biotechnology and economics. I also hope that this visit
will give us an opportunity to explore means of developing economic relations in
different sectors; encouraging investments and trade, establishing a joint
council for businessmen and businesswomen and strengthening contacts between the
chambers of commerce and industry in Syria and Britain.
The Right Honorable Lord Mayor and Gentlemen,
I am confident that relations of friendship and cooperation between Syria and
Britain will further flourish in the years ahead. I thank you again for this
memorable evening and wish you all as well as the British people prosperity and
happiness.
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