DAMASCUS - A visit by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Syria has included the signing of several cooperation accords on Sunday, the state SANA news agency said.

"Several cooperation accords were signed in the areas of business, culture and education," by Syria's Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara and his Malaysian counterpart Syed Hamid Albar, it said.

A commercial cooperation agreement was also signed by the countries, it said.

The 77-year-old Mahathir, who is due to retire in October after 22 years in office, is in Syria to pay a courtesy call on President Bashar al-Assad, according to Kuala Lumpur.

His foreign ministry had said the visit was part of a 10-day trip which was also to have taken in Algeria, and Swaziland for the Southern Africa International Dialogue which seeks to promote cooperation between developing nations. - AFP