DAMASCUS, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that Syria and Iraq must face the foreign schemes and preserve their sovereignty and independence, according to the state news agency SANA.

Assad made the remarks during his meeting with visiting Iraqi advisor of the National Security Council Faleh Fayyad, in the capital Damascus.

During the meeting, Assad stressed that the fate of the region could only be determined by the peoples of the area no matter how big the challenges become.

Assad also underlined the need to boost the relations between both countries to eliminate terrorism and serve their mutual interests.

For his side, Fayyad stressed that the victory of Syria on terrorism is also considered as the winning of Iraq and that any achievement of Iraq against terrorism is an achievement for Syria.

Iraq and Syria have been lately discussing the opening of border points between both countries as well as the efforts to continue hunting down remnants of the Islamic State militants in the border areas.