News & Events in Belarus

Lukashenko arrives in Tehran on official visit

TEHRAN, 13 March (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko arrived in Iran on an official visit. The Belarusian air force one touched down at Mehrabad International Airport on 12 March, BelTA has learned.

This is the third visit of the Belarusian president to Iran. The last one took place 17 years ago.

In Tehran, the Belarusian head of state is set to hold talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. During a meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand on 16 September 2022, the leaders of the two countries instructed the foreign ministries to take stock of the relations and take measures to intensify them.

Main items on the agenda of the visit to Iran

“The talks in Tehran will focus on the development of cooperation across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations with an emphasis on trade and economy. The meeting of the presidents will be held in the one-on-one and expanded formats with the participation of members of delegations. The parties will discuss the projects in industry, agriculture, transport and logistics. Particular consideration will be given to the situation in the region and in the world as a whole,” the president’s press service informed.  

In Iran, Aleksandr Lukashenko is scheduled to meet with First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei.

Belarus stands ready to strengthen not only a full-fledged political dialogue with Iran but also to develop trade and economic ties and joint investment projects, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Iran Dmitry Koltsov said in an interview with BelTA. He called economic cooperation the key area of interaction.

Trade between Belarus and Iran

In 2021, the trade between the countries exceeded $33 million, an increase of more than a third compared to 2020. Over the past year, the level of trade increased even more significantly: in 2022, Belarus-Iran trade hit $100 million, which represented a threefold increase.

Belarus supplied Iran with machines and equipment, accepted Iranian students for training. In addition, Belarusian specialists worked on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

Avenues of cooperation

According to Ambassador Dmitry Koltsov, Belarus and Iran stand ready to develop cooperation in such promising areas of cooperation as industry and technology, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, green economy and climate adaptation. "We are already actively working in a number of these areas," the ambassador said.

The revival of mutual trade is facilitated by the improvement of the infrastructure of the international North-South transport corridor. "The two countries are developing optimal ways and conditions for the delivery of goods," the diplomat said.

The North-South transport corridor with a length of 7,200km runs from the Indian port of Nhava Sheva in the south of Mumbai to St. Petersburg through Iran. Sea, river and rail transport is used for transportation. Its main advantages over other routes (in particular, over the sea route through the Suez Canal) are shorter distance (almost twice) and lower costs of transporting containers compared to the cost of transportation by sea.

Belarus, Iran resume regular air service

Ambassador Dmitry Koltsov emphasized that regular air traffic plays an important role in maintaining direct business, scientific, educational, cultural, and tourist exchanges. "Very soon, air service will be resumed between the capitals of our countries. A direct flight will certainly become a powerful factor for expanding economic cooperation between the countries," the head of the Belarusian diplomatic mission said.

One of the central events of the visit will be the signing of a comprehensive roadmap for comprehensive cooperation between Belarus and Iran. The document was developed in the furtherance of the agreements of the heads of state reached during their meeting in Dushanbe in September 2021.

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