Andrei Dapkiunas, the top diplomat of Belarus declared Iran as the close friend of his country on Friday in a meeting with the Iranian ambassador to Belarus Saeed Yari in Minsk.

The Belarusian official hoped that the Iranian people and government could sooner get through the COVID-19 outbreak.

For his part, the Iranian envoy pointed to March 18 which is the 27th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between the two countries, noting that the presidency of Belarus over the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) can be a suitable ground for increasing bilateral cooperation.

“During the meeting, the sides discussed a number of issues of Belarusian-Iranian cooperation in trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas, as well as the political and epidemiological situation in the world,” reads a statement by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry about the meeting.

Last month,  Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has extended greetings to Iran President Hassan Rouhani as the country celebrates the 41st anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and considerable achievements of the state over the period.