KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) wants to exchange video clips, news, expertise and journalists with Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) to get better and balanced information.

Charge D’Affairs of Syrian Embassy Mhd Hasanein Khaddam said he was impressed with Bernama’s responsible and unbiased information, and its complete facts for its clients.

“We have a lot of beautiful stories, unfortunately Middle East is the source of sad news in the world. We are looking for a source of good news, we would like to have a fair coverage of our troubles in the region,” he told Bernama in an interview here Friday.

Earlier, Mhd Hasanein met Bernama general manager Hasnul Hassan to discuss and exchange views and ideas.

He said Bernama, which was a very respectable news agency, was his main source here to get the right information and news, adding that he visited the Bernama website daily.

He hoped that one day, there would be a Bernama bureau in Syria, and invited Malaysian journalists to visit Syria, and vice-versa.

Mhd Hasanein urged more Syrian students to further their studies at Malaysian universities and colleges. As of this year, there are about 120 Syrian students here.

On the bilateral relationship, Mhd Hasanein said Syria wanted to enhance it further by increasing its trade and market in Malaysia. “We are not satisfied although we have excellent relationship...we want to enhance it further, (as) it needs a lot of effort to keep (maintain) the good relationship,” he noted.

Mhd Hasanein invited more Malaysian businessmen to invest in Syria as it offered industrial zones to develop their varied businesses. “I think Damascus offers great potential and more opportunities for businesses,” he said. — Bernama