Belarus set to expand cooperation with Iran

Belarus is determined to keep promoting fruitful cooperation with Iran, said Belarusian industry minister and co-chairman of Belarus-iran commission for economic cooperation.

Pavel Utyupin underlined that Belarus views Iran as an established player in the international arena and an important partner, reported BELTA.

He noted that the two countries laid solid groundwork for expanding fruitful cooperation.

The minister stated that Belarus-iran relations should advance to a new, higher level in politics, economy and other areas.

Utyupin pointed to the mutual interest in intensifying bilateral relations in manufacturing, agriculture, science and technology sectors.

Iran’s Ambassador to Belarus Mostafa Oveisi noted that Iran has achieved a lot in the past 40 years since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Maybe, the biggest achievement of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the country’s freedom and independence from external dominance. Huge investments were made in the country’s economic, industrial and scienti¿c development. We are proud that Iran is one of the world’s leaders in many areas of science and technology,” he said.

Belarus-iran relations are underpinned by mutual trust and respect.

It is encouraging that this attitude has remained in place for over 25 years of diplomatic relations.

Cooperation and constructive interaction in politics, economy, culture, science and technology have been gaining momentum thanks to the efforts taken, the Iranian ambassador said.

He emphasized the importance of the meetings and talks between the presidents of Belarus and Iran during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in the Chinese city of Qingdao last year, and the meetings of Iran’s ¿rst vice president with Belarus’ premier in Sochi in November 2017.

In addition to that, the diplomat pointed to the important role of inter-parliamentary exchanges. Last year major agreements were reached during a session of the joint economic commission in Tehran.

According to the ambassador, the two sides are working hard to achieve their common goal which is to increase bilateral trade to $1 billion.