Egypt seeks tapping new markets at Damascus int'l fair

Deputy Chairman of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce Ali Shoukry said the chamber seeks to tap new markets for Egyptian products during the Damascus International Fair.

In a statement on Sunday, he said Egypt's participation in the event will give momentum to the Egyptian-Syrian economic ties.

On Thursday, the Syrian government opened the country's first international trade fair since war broke out in 2011, an event hailed by officials as a "victory" and a sign of renewed confidence in the war-torn nation after years of war.

The fair is being held in an area few kilometers (miles) away from the rebel-held eastern suburbs of Damascus. The proximity alone underlines Syrian President Bashar Assad's increasingly confident position following significant military gains on the ground in the past year.

According to state-run media, participants from 43 countries are taking part in the fair, which is expected to last for 10 days and promises to attract investors mainly from allies like Russia, China and Iran.

Egypt, South Africa and Belarus are also taking part, and organizers say companies from Britain, France and Germany are participating, apparently in a private capacity.

The Damascus International Fair used to be a high-profile annual event, attracting major investors before the war erupted.

It's reopening is a telling indicator of the mood in the Syrian capital. 

The Damascus trade fair, which was first launched in 1954, was among the oldest and most celebrated across the Arab world, attracting Arab and international investors.

It was last held in the summer of 2011, few months after the first protests against the Assad family's decade-old rule erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the Middle East.