Iran, Belarus Call for Broader Economic Cooperation

(FNA)- Senior Iranian and Belarusian officials said abundant capacities, talented people and firm will in both Tehran and Minsk should be utilized properly for the promotion of the bilateral ties in various arenas, particularly in economic domains.

In a meeting between Iranian Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh and Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, the two sides vowed to do their best to pave the way for reinvigoration of mutual cooperation.

Nematzadeh, in the meeting, called for further improvement of bilateral economic, trade and industrial ties, and said that the Iran-Belarus Commission will be held in March.

“Tehran is ready to promote cooperation with Minsk in various fields of standardization, bourse, export of techno-engineering services and holding exhibitions,” he said.

Makei, for his part, said Iran and Belarus have a long history of favorable cooperation.

“The two countries can further increase economic ties,” he said.

Tehran and Minsk have in recent months increased efforts to start a jump in mutual cooperation. The two states have recently widened their areas of economic cooperation.

Iran and Belarus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on road transportation cooperation in March 2012.

Makei also had a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday, where the two senior diplomats welcomed further expansion of Tehran-Minsk all-out ties, and meantime stressed the importance of boosting their countries' cooperation on regional and international scenes.

Zarif and Makei reviewed the progressive trend of the bilateral ties, and discussed regional and international developments.