During an official visit from Iran to Syria, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash stated on Wednesday that both nations are discussing plans to create a joint bank in an effort to develop economic ties further. 

Iranian media reported earlier that day that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad signed 15 cooperation agreements. 

Cited by the Nour News agency, Bazrpash said: "[The establishment of] a joint bank is [planned]. The Iranian economy minister [Ehsan Khandozi] will hold talks with the head of the Syrian central bank [Muhammad Hazima]". 

Read more: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad arrives in Moscow: Office 

من وصول الرئيس الإيراني إبراهيم #رئيسي إلى مطار دمشق الدولي #سورية
التفاصيل تجدونها على الرابط: https://t.co/k94rtFGceX pic.twitter.com/LfoOGRXmfc

— الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء - سانا (@SanaAjel) May 3, 2023

Raisi arrived in Syria on Wednesday for a two-day visit, making it his first trip to Damascus since the breakout of the war on Syria in 2011. The last Iranian president who paid a visit to Syria was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a year prior in 2010.

Before leaving for Damascus, Raisi articulated that it has become clear to everyone that the Syrian government must have the right to sovereignty and territorial integrity over all Syrian territories. He expressed his hopes that this visit would aid in the development and expansion of Iranian-Syrian relations and that it would be a useful and influential visit for relations between the two countries.

Raisi stressed that "the groups created by the Americans, such as ISIS and others, shed blood and created chaos in the region and committed many crimes."

بزودی همراه با دکتر رئیسی عازم #سوریه هستم.اهمیت این سفر علاوه ‌بر ابعاد سیاسی، امنیتی و اقتصادی، بيانگر تجلی پیروزی اراده‌ی سیاسی مقاومت و موفقیت دیپلماسی دولت در تکمیل روند همگرایی منطقه است.
یاد سردارسلیمانی عزیز و همه شهدا که امنیت را به ایران و‌ منطقه هدیه کردند، گرامی باد. pic.twitter.com/oOoN6zksFe

— H.Amirabdollahian امیرعبداللهیان (@Amirabdolahian) May 2, 2023

In an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen, broadcast on Tuesday about several political subjects, he spoke most notably of the details of the Iranian-Saudi rapprochement, Iran's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and relations with Syria.

Raisi said that Tehran declared, from the outset, that its policy was to "go to neighboring countries," and its decision was to establish good relations and good dealings with neighboring countries, and "to use the energies of the countries of the region to raise the level of relations" in all political, economic, cultural, and social fields.

Iran and Syria signed a joint comprehensive agreement in July 2020 to boost their cooperation in the military and defense fields. It began providing Syria with advisory military assistance after several countries, including the US, "Israel," and their proxy allies waged aggressions on the country with the aim of deposing President Al-Assad. 

Through joint collaborative efforts, along with assistance from Russia, the two countries managed to repel large swathes of ISIS factions.