Syria and Iran will start applying on March 21 a bilateral preferential trade agreement, a deal the Syrian Government hopes will increase exports and partly reverse the impact of the steep decline in foreign currency earnings it is facing.

Updated February 20: Syria is to hold a referendum on a new constitution on February 26 following the conclusion of the draft text by a President-appointed committee.

The following text is the draft of the new Syrian constitution that will be put to Referendum on February 26, 2011.

Trade between the United States and Syria fell 31 percent last year following economic sanctions imposed by the American administration on Syria.

Updated February 13: The European Union plans to impose new economic sanctions on Syria threatening to reduce further the Government’s foreign currency earnings and the country’s links with the outside world as diplomatic pressure piles on Damascus.

Syria’s official inflation rate almost doubled in December, partially reflecting the steep increase in prices witnessed in the local market in recent weeks.

A total of four political parties have been licensed to this date by the Syrian Government under the Party Law enacted last year.

Updated February 13: Gulf and several EU countries recalled last week their ambassadors to Damascus after the United States decided to suspend the operations of its embassy in the Syrian capital and to recall all its diplomats there.

Syria’s trade with Turkey fell 15 percent last year over the political unrest and the suspension of the free trade agreement linking the two countries although until the third quarter of 2011 year-on-year figures remained stable.

Switzerland and Australia have announced an expansion of a blacklist of Syrian individuals and entities that are sanctioned for their alleged support to the Syrian authorities’ handling of the popular uprising engulfing the country.

The short-term rush on bread witnessed last week in Damascus has highlighted the growing nervousness in the Syrian capital as economic difficulties continue to mount and the armed conflict that is engulfing larger parts of the country draws nearer.

The number of tenders issued by state-owned corporations has declined dramatically in recent weeks on the back of international sanctions and reduced expenditure by the Government.

The Ministry of Economy has published its rules of classification for small and medium enterprises as it prepares to launch a fund dedicated to them.

The following text is the resolution pertaining to the unrest in Syria and vetoed on February 4 by Russia and China.

The Swedish Migration Board has announced that it had stopped the deportation of Syrians because of the “rapidly deteriorating security situation” in their home country.