The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, plans on visiting Iran in the near future, as he noted on meeting the Foreign Minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif. Mr. Lukashenko stressed that, during the forthcoming visit, he plans to focus on the economic dimension of Belarus-Iran relations. “Our political, diplomatic relations are at a very high level while our economic relations need to be improved. With this in mind, we’ll focus on the economy and, naturally, include events to promote economic ties,” he underlined.
The President emphasised that Belarus is open to co-operation with Iran, as proven by Iran’s investments into the Belarusian economy: over $600m has been injected into Belarusian projects. Mr. Lukashenko mentioned that, in recent times, project implementation has slowed, although Belarus has always tried to meet Iranian partners halfway and create the best business conditions. “I’d like to assure you that we’ll always be committed to our agreements and will do our best to create good conditions for our partners in Belarus,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
“We’re experiencing hard times now. Both Iran and Belarus are subject to external influences; your country faces sanctions in a number of fields. The same was and still is true for our country. Nevertheless, we can show an example of co-operation between states,” Mr. Lukashenko said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister extended greetings from Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, to Mr. Lukashenko and said that he was looking forward to the visit by the Belarusian Head of State. Mr. Javad Zarif agreed that Belarus and Iran need to advance economic relations, as is to be discussed at a forthcoming session of the Belarusian-Iranian Commission on Economic Co-operation, scheduled for March 3rd-4th, in Tehran. The event will rehearse our two states’ joint actions, focusing on issues for study by our presidents, to ensure that Mr. Lukashenko’s visit to Iran acts as a catalyst for mutually beneficial liaisons.
By Vladimir Khromov
