BEIRUT, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali said on Tuesday that Lebanon and Syria should cooperate through a cooperation plan covering different areas, the National News Agency reported.

"Lebanon and Syria cannot succeed if they do not work in harmony. All those who care about the interests of the two countries should push for continuous cooperation," Ali said during his meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti in the capital Beirut.

Ali noted that the two countries have been cooperating with regard to the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

"We are doing our best to encourage refugees to return to Syria but we want foreign countries to lift the sanctions imposed on our country which would motivate Syrians to return to their homeland while attracting investors to reconstruct what has been damaged by terrorism," the Syrian ambassador said.

Lebanon is currently in dire need for support from Arab countries and the international community to get over its economic and financial crisis.