DAMASCUS, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government is trying to break the economic siege through promoting its local products in neighboring markets through local fairs to attract customers and merchants.

The Syrian government's efforts come in light of the toughened economic sanctions imposed on Syria by the Western powers, which pushed the government to search for ways to ease the economic hardship in the country after nearly eight years of war.

One of the major products the Syrian side is trying to promote is the textile, as Syria is famous for its high-quality textile and clothes market.

Therefore, the Syrian government has opened a four-day Textile Fair on Thursday with the participation of tens of local companies to showcase their Syrian-made products.

Government officials said the fair is witnessing the visits of merchants from neighboring Arab countries and more participation in comparison with previous years.

Samer al-Khalil, the Syrian economy minister, told Xinhua that this year more companies are participating, which indicate the beginning of the recovery in the textile sector.

"We are seeing double participation in this fair in comparison with previous years. We also see that the Syrian textile has a big share in the local market and we are hoping to see the textile sector fully self-sufficient," he said.

Fares Shehabi, an independent Syrian MP for Aleppo city, and Chairman of the Syrian Federation of Industry, told Xinhua that holding such fairs aims to break the economic siege imposed on Syria by the Western powers.

Most of the attendees came from the northern city of Aleppo, which was once the industrial and economic capital of the country.

Two years after its liberation, Aleppo industrialists and merchants started reviving their businesses and are now seen in all local fairs showcasing their various products.

Ahmad Remas, the owner of the Remas textile company, said the aim of the merchants and industrialists in Syria is to find their way back to the Arab markets in neighboring countries.

"We are hoping to enter foreign markets mainly in neighboring countries because we are an industrial country not in need for imports and our products compete with the European products," he said.

Meanwhile, other merchants and industrialists are working to import re-conditioned textile machinery in prices that could be affordable for the local market.

Ahmad Azraq is one of them as he imports re-conditioned machinery in half the price of new ones and with relatively similar capacities of the brand new ones.

He said that the situation is becoming better as the Syrian-Jordanian border crossing of Nasib has reopened, noting that Arab merchants are visiting Syria to buy the Syrian-made products.

"In the tough circumstances we are passing through as part of the campaign against our country, the customers are concerned about better products in a lower price," he said.

In the past years, the man continued, "our production has hit bottom low, but since the liberation of Aleppo two years ago, the situation got better and we started working particularly after the re-opening of the Nasib border crossing between Syria and Jordan."

At the fair, customers from Libya and Iraq were seen visiting and checking the products while striking deals with the local manufacturers.

Salem Qadah, a Libyan visitor, told Xinhua he showed up in Syria because he is familiar with the Syrian products from the pre-war time, noting that he is interested in striking deals with a textile company in Syria to export products to Libya.

Abdul-Samad Hamed, an Iraqi merchant, said that the Syrian cotton is largely demanded in Iraq.

"I am here hoping to strike a deal to import Syrian-made lingerie and I am excited because this would boost my business back in Baghdad," he said. Enditem

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