Opinion: Belarus, Iran enjoy active political interaction, economic aspects need to be intensified
During the talks in Minsk on March 12th, Belarus and Iran outlined ways to expand military co-operation, and a deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, Aleksandr Shpakovsky, commented on the importance of that move
In his talk with Alfa Radio, the MP stressed that co-operation with Iran is important for Belarus. “Earlier, the heads of state outlined a roadmap, and it is currently being implemented. Unfortunately, Minsk and Tehran are progressing in not all aspects, but some projects are quite successful. Among them is the interest of the Iranian side in Belarusian engineering products, in particular, BelAZ equipment for the mining industry, and military-technical interaction. Well, the latter is usually not much talked about, since it is not always possible to reveal these highly specialised issues in full to public,” he said.
Mr. Shpakovsky added that, some time ago, agreements were reached with the Russian side on the establishment of an enterprise for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles in Belarus, “This is very important for the civilian and military sectors of the economy, because the role of drones is steadily increasing. The Iranian military industry has achieved some success here, and there are a number of positions upon which we can effectively co-operate.”
The MP noted that both countries share similar approaches to the world order, “Belarus and Iran are members of the same integration blocs and unions, so we traditionally support each other in the international arena — enjoying a high level of political interaction. It is now needed to focus on the economic co-operation. It is quite obvious: the two countries are capable of much more if they act together.”
Mr. Shpakovsky added that the MILEX-2025 international exhibition of arms and military equipment will be held in Belarus in May. “The Belarusian State Authority for Military Industry is effectively working with a wide range of partners, including Iranian ones. We hope that Iran's exposition at MILEX will be rich, and all interested parties will be able to get acquainted with the product range offered,” he said.
