(Eurojar: Damascus, Al-Hayat) -- Syria has decided to open its economy to the world after long years of centralized economy and to broaden its economic options east and west. Despite the opposition of the United States, it is also striving to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), which includes representatives from 135 states that control 90 percent of world trade. It joined the Great Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA) in the beginning of 1998. Moreover, Syria’s signature of the partnership agreement with the European Union (EU) is imminent today. Hence, Syria is undoubtedly faced with great challenges that await its companies and factories, which have, for many years, become used to protectionism in facing the great multinationals that strive to dominate global markets.

According to official numbers from the Ministry of Economy, there's a large proportion of quality violations that last year reached 45 percent for nonfoodstuff products and 29 percent for foodstuff products in Aleppo, the stronghold of Syrian industry. In addition, there are some transactions that were canceled or trade operations that tainted the reputation of Syrian products. Consequently, quality has become the most urgent matter for any national industrial or services establishment that produces goods or offers services that meet the needs and expectations of customers, and that have appropriate and competitive prices.

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