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Minister of Expatriates Stresses the Cooperation in National Development
Mr. Joseph Sweid, Minister of Expatriates and Head of the Syrian Expatriate Advisory Council, opened yesterday morning the Sixth Conference of the Expatriate Advisory Council. The conference was attended by the representatives of the Syrian expatriates all over the world, under the slogan «We are all serve the homeland... Residents and Expatriates» in the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus.
During the conference, the minister discussed the strategic role of the council in the next phase; its specialized committees and secretary, beside the main points in the work plan of the Ministry of Expatriates in 2009 and the top priority programs which include developing the ministry’s website, and holding the Syrian Expatriate Youth Forum including approving the plan and the timetable for the camp preparations in accordance with the presented study.
The participants discussed the draft of the Syrian Expatriate Database Project, the national campaign of counting the Syrian expatriates and the strategy of working with the communities, diplomatic missions and the related bodies.
They also discussed the project of establishing the Syrian Expatriate House, which will be a modern center for hosting expatriate delegations, especially the youth, and the expatriate activities held in Syria. The House will offer a high level of accommodation and hospitality services, and entertainment, cultural and social activities.
The council members discussed the ways of communication with communities and the work with expatriate associations. They discussed the ways to develop the work of associations and their organizational structure, the application of the Basic System of Expatriate associations in accordance with the laws applicable in each country. They discussed the activity of the Federation of European - Syrian Communities and Associations and the Syrian-American Cultural Council and their work programs in the next phase. in addition, they discussed an action plan for establishing continental councils like the FESCA in Latin America and the Arab countries, and also a plan of communication trips with the communities in order of priority, and the Council's role in preparing for and participating in the trips program.
They also discussed holding regular Syrian cultural events abroad and benefiting from the experience of the bodies carrying out these activities, and to circulate these experiences to other communities by making these events an essential part of the work programs of the societies and associations.
The Conference discussed the equivalence of scientific diplomas of expatriate doctors graduated from foreign universities and their practicing medicine in Syria.
Latin America
The expatriates in Latin America gained a particular interest in the conference due to the large distribution of Syrian expatriates there. The Conference focused on an action plan regarding the Syrian communities in Latin America (expatriates and Syrian descendants). The plan focused on two aspects: the first is the communication trip in 2009 that aims at highlighting the role of expatriates in Latin America in establishing a work formula with the communities in that continent. The second is about dedicating the year 2010 a Year for Latin America in the Ministry's plan that culminates in organizing a conference for Latin America’s expatriates in Damascus.
In his speech, the Minister of Expatriates focused on the important national role of Syrian expatriates that supports the role of their brothers in the homeland to achieve resistance, and overcoming the challenges and pressures on Syria. He pointed out that the project of the Ministry of expatriates was to serve the expatriate, and their communication with Syria, because the country’s construction is everyone's responsibility. Our aim is an active Arab Syrian expatriate that defends the nation's issues in an objective systematic framework, and a powerful contributor to the overall development process in the homeland.
Mr. Sweid pointed out that the Expatriate Advisory Council is one of the important organizations that cooperates with all ministries and public, civil and social institutions as a supreme body gathering the experience and active role of expatriates abroad in implementation of the missions and objectives of the ministry represented in the realization of the energies and potential of expatriates that are considered a valuable national treasure toward the developmental cultural project in Syria under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad.
He noted that the meeting is held to follow up and build upon the recommendations of the council previous meetings, and to discuss the programs and priorities that will serve the Syrian expatriates because the council is essential in the work of the Ministry of Expatriates. He pointed out that achieving success in the ministry’s missions requires an accurate strategy and a scientific and institutional work methodology based on what has been achieved in the previous work stage - which is important and essential - and the rapid development whether in the mechanisms of the Ministry's work or in the work plans with the communities and finding new ways for the Ministry's role and expatriates’ contributions.
The Minister of Expatriates stressed that the Ministry has a thorough study of what had been achieved and a thorough review of all work files towards formulating a work plan for the next two years according to the Tenth Five - Year Plan of the country (2006-2010), and the recommendations of the expatriates’ conferences. He said that the ministry included the applicable recommendations and suggestions in its work plans, and it is coordinating with the ministries and the specialized authorities to develop other initiatives to be achieved.
The minister said that the ministry’s work strategy is formed from the accurate determination of the potential and priorities needed for the high achievement. The action plan sets a number of priority projects for the next two years. The ministry will implement the short-term projects and start with long-term ones.
Ministry Development
The Minister discussed developing the administrative structure to comply with the work requirements. He pointed out to the decree issued by the President on appointing an Associate Minister for Expatriate Affairs and Technology, and the appointment of an Adviser for Media Affairs, as well as attracting the skilled employees needed for the work nature and its success.
On the implementation level, the minister said that the ministry is working on improving the quality of services and simplifying the procedures to achieve the best level of services, in addition to developing an electronic system to be the platform for expatriates to communicate with the country in terms of information and media service and finishing transactions through the site portal.
At the level of the communities, the minister confirmed that one of the priority projects is building expatriates’ statistical database. The technical part has been achieved, and the procedural (the launching and administration) is being discussed.
He also stressed that tying the youth with the homeland is a priority. This will be achieved through holding youth camps, which are one of the most important projects in the next phase that will establish for a series of these camps especially after building the Syrian Expatriate House. He pointed out that the communication trips is a priority also, and the increasing of the continental representation in the council such as Argentina, Venezuela, Nigeria, France and Germany, and establishing for organizing cultural events abroad as an essential part of the associations and societies’ work programs which have a significant impact on media and tourism.
Council Development
The Minister of Expatriates considers the role of the Expatriate Advisory Council a central and essential one in achieving the missions of the ministry, and that there is a need to develop its secretarial team through dedicating a team to follow up its works to guarantee the best achievement, in addition to reviewing the role and work of the council committees which were formed at the council meeting in Damascus 2006.
Meeting the media figures, the minister pointed out that holding the Council Sixth Conference at this time is an expression of the Syrian expatriates support to the pride attitudes, and adherence to all the principles and rights of the homeland. He pointed out that the council’s lengthened session discussed aspects of the work strategy with the expatriates, and the council members presented different concepts, visions and proposals that would contribute to the development of these aspects and determining the work strategy with the Syrian expatriate.
The minister mentioned that the most prominent theme of the meeting is how to activate the work of the council itself and its specialized committees and their communication with the related governmental institutions and ministries to put their concepts and proposals into serious consideration since the Syrian expatriate has a role in the overall development process in Syria.
The Minister illustrated that discussing the ways and means of tying the Syrian youth with the homeland is important regarding their potential and creative experience, beside the national statistical campaign that will lead to the Syrian expatriate map which contains classifications of expatriate activities and their fields of specialization abroad, noting that the year 2009 will be a year for Syrian Expatriate Youth.
Covering the works of the conference, Al-Baath interviewed some of the Syrian Advisory Council Members:
Dr. Azzam Al-Rashi, the representative of the Syrian community in Moscow said: "the Syrian community in Moscow is recent compared to America. It existed almost in the beginning of the nineties, and mostly from the Syrian students who counted on Russia’s Economy and Society and resided there. Now the community includes prominent cultural, scientific and economic expatriate figures. Recently, the Syrian community was integrated in the Russian society, and occupied critical and important positions, and now there are academics and business men who have great institutions. We have tried to organize visits of Parliament members to Syria through joint activities with the various political, medical, cultural, and media blocs in Syria to present the true image of Syria in the face of the media malicious lies that serves the Zionist project. In this meeting, we set an executive strategy to activate the role of expatriates in Syria and abroad which is an important and necessary step.”
Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Deiry, the representative of the European continent in the council said: “I think that the first and most important step is accomplishing the Syrian expatriates database; their numbers, jobs, geographical distribution, etc, because we can not build on the unknown, and the knowledge of these statistics is the correct step toward determining how to attract or communicate with them, so the meeting has focused on this point, its requirements and how to be achieved within a reasonable period of time.”
Dr. Gabriel Joseph, the representative of the Syrian community in Brazil, said: "It is very important to communicate with the Syrian community in Brazil for they have achieved critical and important positions. If the Arab community is estimated by /15/ millions, seven millions of them are of Syrian descendants, of whom /81/ millions are deputies in the House of Representatives, and /11/ are senators in the Senate, and that was the reason for founding several associations in Brazil, especially in Sao Paulo, but still the expatriate in need for more attracting factors, and this is what we discussed in the meeting. We are satisfied with the new decrees and laws issued recently in the interest of the expatriates and contributed to their communication with the homeland, however, we expect more from the decision we discussed in the meeting regarding dedicating the year 2010 for Latin America, and also the suggested visit of the Minister of Expatriates to Brazil that activates the communication more.”
Mr. Abdullah Al Taweel, representative of the Syrian community in Australia, said: "the meeting is very important for the community, and its works will be conveyed through the Arab press, the Syrian Embassy, and Syria Friends Committee which includes all the Australian political parties that plays a major role in presenting the real image of Syria in Australia. The is beside the Syrian expatriates important role in this regard, for example, they have organized Australian parliamentary delegation visits to Syria, a visit of the Chairman of the Australian Parliament also, and currently a student delegation will arrive into Damascus to know about it, and it will be a messenger for Syria abroad, but still we need more for to communicate with the largest number of expatriates.”
Mr. Bassam Masouh said: "There are issues of mutual interest for Syria and the expatriates, and in fact the meetings held so far are for arranging suggestions and ideas, and discussing serving Syria abroad and services provided by Syria to expatriates in the homeland (this includes their affairs in Syria) which is great. No doubt the journey is long and needs a thorough study, research, ideas and proposals in this line, and we are optimistic.” He added: “since the situation is difficult in Syria, the second and third generations of expatriates hesitate to visit the country, for example, my children do not come often to Syria, but they are nationalists and defend their country, because they are grown up to love the homeland. We need further work from the ministry to attract expatriates, and it is also the responsibility of the first generation and Arab societies to enhance the homeland love in the hearts of their children, because no matter how long was our residence abroad we still Syrians and nationalists, and we hope in the future to have more ways to communicate with expatriates abroad, and it is satisfying that the Syrian government is now working on attracting them, because they are national, industrial, economic, intellectual, and spiritual treasure, and our experience and lives at home and abroad have shown us that in every place have pros and cons, and we hope to diminish the negative aspects in Syria to attract the our children.”
D. Nabil Kuzbari, representative of the Syrian community in Austria, said: "There is no doubt that the Council meeting discussed seriously the ways of activating the work with Syrian expatriate and tying them with the homeland through its various committees. We explore the demands of expatriates to infer the key to communicate with them, because meeting their needs enables them to visit, reside, invest in Syria, or play an active role to serve it abroad. Today, there are more than /17/ millions Syrian expatriates abroad, and they are important national wealth can not be ignored, and in Austria alone, there are more than /250/ successful Syrian doctors we work on enhancing their communication with Syria.”
Mr. Assad Jibarah, representative of the Syrian community in North America, said: "the efforts of the Syrian government began a few years ago through the creation of the Ministry of expatriates to communicate with and attract the expatriates. I thing the journey is long, and this meeting is an important step because it has been positive and discussed ideas and important projects to serve Syria and Syrian expatriates alike. Everyone knows how difficult the situation in North America is for Arabs in general, especially after September 11, so we are working on several fronts; the national, American and Arab, and we have established a society for defending the Arab rights, and the other to present the Arab culture, its figures and landmarks, However, still the bad attitude toward Arabs in common, and we must take more important and stride steps, and this can only be achieved by developing a strategy and future plans for the Syrian communities to build on them its plans, programs and activities in cooperation and coordination with Ministry of Expatriates in Syria, and here is lie the importance of this Conference; in putting and achieving this strategy, and in being a clear expression of the desire of the Ministry of Expatriates to exert the effort, because it realizes their being a national, industrial, economic, intellectual and spiritual wealth, and this is important because the setting the objective and its importance is the motive of any action.”
Mrs. Hind Kabawat, Representative of the Syrian community in Canada, said: “the Syrian community in Canada is more than /150/ thousands, but there are large numbers of Syrian students, especially at Montreal and they have an effect there. I am the head of the Youth Committee in Canada, and I think that attracting the second and third generations to interact with the Syrian youth here is very important, because they need to be tied intellectually and emotionally, not only physically, for they have lived in foreign countries and need a thorough work plan to tie them with the homeland, and they in turn carry this belonging to the next generations. Hence, I find the Conference interest in expatriate youth and developing regular plans for high-level Syrian youth forums, and if the previous conferences were satisfying on the level of their decisions and recommendations, the current Conference sets the implementing of those decisions. I can say, in the past we were searching for the road, and now we have stepped in.
Starting of the Works of the Sixth Syrian Expatriate Advisory Council
Damascus
November/2008
The sixth Syrian Expatriate Advisory Council “We are all serve the homeland, residents and expatriates” has started its meetings.
The Minister of Expatriates, Joseph Sweid, stressed the importance of this session, which comes as part of the ministry's plan to activate the expatriate work highlighting the importance of the topics discussed during the meetings in determining the work features of the next stage in a way that encourages the expatriates’ contribution in the development process in Syria.
The minister pointed out that Advisory Council will launch a national campaign for building expatriate database that helps tying the Syrian youth with the homeland and enhance their communication with it, referring to the expatriates’ attitudes toward the national issues and their participation in all what would enhance Syria's overcoming of challenges.
Then, the participants discussed the meeting agenda, which included the strategic role of the Council in coming phase, and its work through the specialized committees and its secretariat, key objectives in the Ministry's work plan for the next year, the programs and plans of priority, the Syrian Expatriates Youth Forum to be held in 2009 and its requirements, the comprehensive Syrian expatriate database project, the work with communities and diplomatic missions, and the project of establishing the Expatriate House as a modern specialized center to embrace expatriate delegations.
They also discussed the possibility of developing a plan for the communication trips and the Council's role in preparing and participating in them, dedicating the year 2009 for the distinguished countries in Latin America, and a number of cultural and social issues of concern to expatriates.
The Council continues its works today’s evening, and will continue for two days.
Expatriate House and Continental Councils for Youth
Damascus
7/11/2008
Emphasizing the strategic role of the Expatriate Advisory Council in the next stage, mechanisms of its work, and scheduling the meetings of its committees with the various ministries, teaching Arabic to expatriates’ children through the ministry website and to link the website with the Syrian Virtual University, were the most important recommendations and decisions of the Expatriate Advisory Council meetings that was concluded yesterday.
The recommendations stressed the importance of the Syrian Expatriate Youth Forum and the assignment of the Council Youth Committee to prepare a study on the project and follow-up with the Ministry of Expatriates to hold it the next year. The Council also approved the establishment of the Syrian Expatriates House in the motherland as a modern center to embrace the expatriates, especially the youth and the expatriated activities. The Council recommended continuous trips and communication with the communities to activate their role and present their programme to the Council, and starting the work on establishing a continental federations and councils as the Federation of Communities and Syrian-European Friendship Associations benefiting from the experience of the Syrian-British Friendship Society in the cultural field in particular.
For his part, Mr. Joseph Sweden, the Minister of Expatriates and the President of the Expatriate Advisory Council, in a statement to al Thawra newspaper, assured the political leadership's keenness to give the expatriate file a great interest. On his turn, Dr. Wael Khoury, President of the Syrian- American cultural Council said that the Syrian community in the United States worked on establishing Syrian-American cultural Council and is currently establishing a cultural park in America with the participation of Syrian students from the Faculty of Architecture in Damascus.
The Prime Minister Meets the Members of the Expatriate Advisory Council
Damascus
November 6, 2008
The Prime Minister, engineer Mohammad Naji Otri, discussed with the members of the Syrian Expatriate Advisory Council the Council role in deepening and strengthening the belonging and communication between expatriates and their homeland Syria.
The meeting which was attended by Minister Joseph Sweid, stressed the role of expatriates in presenting the bright image of Syria, defending its attitudes and benefiting from the expertise, capabilities, and experiences in supporting the development process that Syria witnesses on different levels.
The meeting dealt with the council's mission, committees, the expatriate associations and activating their role and work to strengthen the cooperation between their societies and Syria, focusing on distributing the Arab culture between expatriate communities, and teaching the Arabic language to younger generations.
The members of the Council presented some issues and topics of interest to expatriates and their recommendations to develop and enhance their contributions in the cultural and scientific fields.
The Prime Minister underlined the government's interest in the presented issues expressing its strong desire to provide the appropriate means and mechanisms to deal with and activate them.
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