Iran, Belarus observe fourfold increase in trade
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
Belarus is an important partner for Iran, because of its geopolitical location. In turn, Iran plays an important role in the Gulf region. This can explain the mutual interest in the development of bilateral relations.
Iranian Ambassador to Belarus Mustafa Oveysi said that Tehran and Minsk experienced a year of growing relations in the last 1397 Persian year (March 21, 2018 - March 20, 2019), stressing that the volume of bilateral trade increased four times compared with the corresponding period last year.
Oveysi noted that relations between the two countries are improving in all areas, adding that the volume of trade between Iran and Belarus in the last 1397 Iranian calendar year (ending March 20, 2019) was four times more than the previous year, reports Fars News.
He said that the trade turnover of Iran and Belarus in the past Iranian calendar year amounted to $154.1 million, which is an unprecedented phenomenon over the past 25 years.
The ambassador said Iran and Belarus are negotiating bilateral agreements that will pave the way for a turnover of $ 1 billion.
He said that Iran and Belarus have the potential for cooperation in the fields of industry, commerce, oil, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.
Iran is interested in supplying Belarusian electric buses to Iran. In the context of modern environmental requirements and reducing environmental pollution, this is especially true for cities, like Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz.
At the first stage of cooperation, 100 Belarusian electric buses will be supplied to Iran under a turnkey contract, and then the creation of their assembly production in Iranian territory is not excluded.
Diplomatic relations between Belarus and Iran were established on March 18, 1993.
The legal base of bilateral cooperation covers more than 30 interstate and interdepartmental treaties.
Belarus and Iran closely cooperate at international sites, providing mutual support in international organizations such as ECOSOC, UNESCO, the UNHRC, the Universal Postal Union, etc.
The 14th meeting of the Mixed Belarusian-Iranian Commission on Economic Cooperation was held On January 22-23, 2018, which resulted in the signing of the Roadmap for the development of cooperation between the two countries for 2018-2020.
Belarus views Iran as a key partner in the region and highly appreciates the ties that have developed with this country. It is very important that the interaction between the two countries is based on mutual trust and respect. This contributes to the strengthening of friendship between nations and creates a good basis for increasing interaction.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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