Damascus, Minister of Agriculture in the caretaker government, Eng. Mohammad Hassan Qatana, discussed Wednesday, with the Chargé d'Affairs of the Russian Embassy in Damascus, Yevgeny Kozlov, the existing cooperation between Syria and Russia in the agricultural field, the exchange of products and the developing of ties, in a way that serves the interests of the two countries in the coming phase. Qatana underlined the strength and long history of relations between the two countries and the necessity of developing them, especially in the economic aspect, notably agriculture, and accelerating the signing of the economic and scientific cooperation agreement. The Minister expressed the Ministry's readiness for all forms of cooperation to push economic relations forward. He also touched upon the importance of agreeing on agricultural quarantine systems, unifying health certificate models, preparing an integrated program to enhance and develop plant and veterinary laboratories, and exchanging scientific research t o transfer expertise and improve varieties, in a way that ensures increased production and productivity in light of climate change. For his part, Kozlov stressed the importance of developing agricultural relations between the two countries and strengthening cooperation between them, with the aim of increasing production and exchanging products, and the need to hold periodic meetings between technicians to present everything new and overcome all obstacles. Source: Syrian Arab News Agency