TEHRAN (Iran News) – Tehran, Minsk Pursuing Revival of Joint Projects. Iran and Belarus are trying to revive the previous joint projects and to focus on new investments, too.
Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (ICCMIA) Gholam-Hossein Shafei on Monday met the Ambassador of Belarus to Tehran Mr. Dmitry Koltsov and during the meeting both sides explored ways for expansion of ties.
In the meeting, Shafei pointed to the good political relations between Tehran and Minsk since the independence of Belarus and there have been meetings between officials of the two countries since then. He added that these ties and meetings show the interests of both sides for expansion of the joint cooperation.
He termed favorable the geographical position of Belarus for restoring multilateral ties through this country with European countries and neighbors of Belarus. He then pointed to the grounds which had been paved in the past for the joint economic cooperation.
Shafei then pointed to Belarus’s capability to attract investment and said fortunately there are good capacities for restoring trade and economic cooperation and since Iran has focused on renovating its transportation fleet, both countries can start negotiation for cooperation in this field based on the new model.
He also said that cooperation in the framework of Iran’s agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union should be taken into the consideration of the two countries. He also reiterated that economic activists of Iran and Belarus should be aware of each other’s condition and emphasized that ICCIMA is ready to prepare a ground for economic activists to keep the track of each other through this channel.
He added that the banking transactions of the two countries are facing challenges and stipulated that today due to the sanctions, both countries can resolve problems for their needs through barter trade. He noted that the role of ambassadors of the two countries is very important for expansion of trade ties and they should take serious steps for easing the trade process.
Then the Ambassador of Belarus Mr. Koltsov, for his part, pointed to the old relations of both countries and emphasized the necessity for boosting bilateral ties. He added he believes the capacities for cooperation are beyond what has been raised so far and here it is the task of the embassy to follow expansion of bilateral trade.
He also pointed to the interests of the chamber of commerce of Belarus for strengthening ties and hosting Iranian trade delegations, adding that without any doubt, these meetings will help the relations of the two countries to be reinforced.
Koltsov also pointed to the meeting of Iran-Belarus Joint Commission which will convene in the near future and expressed hope it happens before the end of 2021. He said the commission this time will be presided by Iran’s Minister of Industry and recommended a delegation from the private sector led by the head of ICCIMA to attend the meeting in order that some B2B sessions can be held for economic activists of the two countries.
He also called for the revival of the labor council of the two countries which used to be held in the past but its meetings have faced some problems. He also called for awareness of both sides about the economic capabilities of both countries especially precise information and data on the economic conditions in Iran and Belarus and recommended the ICCIMA to hold a meeting for exchange of information between the economic activists.
Koltsov then added that there are three grounds for joint cooperation between the two states that the ICCIMA can make them public in order that economic activists can announce their readiness for participation.
