Turkey, Syria Lay Foundation Stone Of 'Friendship Dam'

Turkey's prime minister has praised booming ties with Syria, saying a joint dam project at the border between the two neighbors would further strengthen cooperation.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at a ground-breaking ceremony on the banks of the Orontes River for a joint "Friendship Dam" also attended by his Syrian counterpart.

The hyrdo-electric dam is expected to irrigate 10,000 hectares of agricultural land in the two countries and generate 16 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

Erdogan and President Bashir al-Assad were due to hold talks later on February 6 in the Syrian city of Aleppo.