Al-Monitor | Hamidreza Azizi:�Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif paid an official visit to Damascus Sept. 3 to meet with high-ranking Syrian officials and discuss the latest developments in the country. Iran�s role in the process of post-war reconstruction in Syria was a top priority among the issues discussed. At a meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis, Zarif touched upon the idea of participation by Iran�s private sector in Syria�s reconstruction, saying that the two countries� embassies can facilitate this process.

Iran�s desire to define a serious role for itself in the reconstruction of Syria first came under the spotlight on Aug. 18, when an Iranian economic delegation headed by Iran�s Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Amir Amini visited Damascus for talks on a long-term economic partnership agreement between the two countries.

Although no details have surfaced as to what the two sides agreed upon, an official in Iran�s ministry of roads and urban development on Aug. 31 shared the basics of the agreement. According to Teymour Bashir Gonbadi, director of the ministry�s international affairs department, Iranian companies will be involved in reconstructing Syria�s transportation infrastructure as well as building 30,000 homes in the country. Gondadi also Iran plans to establish a railway connection between Iran and Syria via Iraq, saying that now is an opportune time, given China�s desire to secure railroad access to the Mediterranean within the framework of its Belt & Road Initiative (BRI).

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