Speaking in his meeting with Belarussian Minister of Transport and Communications Aleksei Avramenko on Saturday, Seyyed Reza Fatemi Amin stated that it may be impossible to activate the direct flights between the two countries in the short term but combined flights can be planned in the short term.

In his two-day visit to Belarus, Iranian industry minister met and held talks with Belarussian ministers and managers to broaden bilateral ties.

The two countries of Iran and Belarus enjoy high potentials and capabilities to expand their ties in various fields, Fatemi Amin added.

The Iranian minister added: “There is a possibility of increasing the current exchanges between the two countries, many negotiations were held with large Belarusian companies, which will serve as the infrastructure of all these transportation interactions.”

He also noted: “Different Iranian companies have invested in Belarus in different fields, and this presence of investors in the two countries facilitates trade.”

Belarussian minister of transport, for his part, appreciated Iran’s effort to compile proper rules in increasing bilateral trade between the two countries.

Stating that the two countries of Iran and Belarus are negotiating with each other in the fields of construction of roads and railway and also launch of bilateral flights, Avramenko said that that North-South Corridor to access to sea is very important and stable agreements must be compiled in this regard.

The Belarussian transport minister appreciated position of the Islamic Republic of Iran for enacting proper and strategic rules in increasing volume of bilateral trade and emphasized that Belarus intends to active air transportation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In this meeting, the Minister of Roads of Belarus stated that cooperation in the field of roads, railways, flights between the two countries and some agreements regarding transportation are already underway, adding that the north-south corridor for access to the sea is very important.

“In this context, we must have stable agreements in the field of transportation,” concluded he.

On Friday and during an interview Fatemi Amin said negotiations have been held between Iran and Belarus to increase the value of annual trade from $40 million to $1 billion.

“We have negotiated on the trade volume of $1 billion. Right now the capacity of ties between the two sides is $40 million due to lack of good connections,” he told Press TV in a live interview.

Pointing to the capacities of Belarus in manufacturing mineral and agricultural equipment, he said Iran is in need of such machines and that initial agreements have been reached to receive the needed equipment from Belarus.

On the other hand, the minister said, Iran has capacities in manufacturing cars and medicine that can meet the needs of Belarus. According to him, an Iranian medical company started its activities in the European country on Thursday.

Fatemi Amin also said Iran can act as a suitable path for Belarus to access markets of Southeast Asian countries.

The level of ties can be improved in various fields such as industrial and agricultural machinery, which can help the sides reach the defined target, he said. The two countries have achieved a “good understanding” of the capacities of the other side, the minister said.

Elsewhere, answering a question about the effects of sanctions, the Iranian minister said sanctions act as a hindrance but cannot stop the activities; and such embargos will even have positive effects in the long run.

Iran managed to register a $120-billion trade volume last year under severe economic sanctions, he said, adding that remaining steadfast under pressure will eventually put the country in a better position.

Pointing to the sanctions imposed on Belarus, the minister said Tehran and Minsk can fulfill the needs of one another in a host of areas.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – A trade delegation from Belarus who was in Tehran to attend The 29th International Exhibition of Food, Food Technology and Agriculture (Iran Agrofood 2022) on Monday and in the last day of the exhibition attended a forum hosted by Tehran Chamber of Commerce were the participants called for broadening economic relations between Iran and Belarus.

According to reports, the forum was held to provide the ground for direct talks and acquaintance of business activists of the two countries with their potentials and capacities.

In the forum, Ambassador of Belarus to Tehran Mr. Dmitry Koltsov announced readiness of his country for broadening economic relations with Iran and termed the forum a turning point for creating constructive and strong relation between Tehran and Minsk and called for regular holding of economic gatherings between the two states and called it a step forward for knowing economic enterprises and capacities for joint co-operations.

He went on to say that membership of both states in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is a historic opportunity for a huge amount of economic and commercial tie between the two states, noting that Belarus needs broadening tie with Iran to take advantage of Iran’s transit capacity and access to the free waters in the Persian Gulf region. Koltsov then said that Iran is one of Belarus’s major trade partners in the region and expressed hope that Belarus can enjoy Iran’s support in meeting its economic demands like transit of goods.

The Belarussian diplomat added that the cooperation of both states in the machine manufacturing industries and food stuff can be a beginning for broadening economic relations and reiterated that the two countries can expand their exports to the third markets through joint production in this field.

Meanwhile in this event, the secretary general of Tehran Chamber of Commerce Mr. Bahman Eshqi said that economic climate of Iran and Belarus has faced hardships due to the unfair and unilateral sanctions, adding that despite sanctions, economies of Iran and Belarus can connect enough for long term economic cooperation in the post-sanctions era.

He went on to say that one of opportunities ahead of economies of the two countries is transit exchanges and transfer and transportation of goods and stated that since Belarus borders are under the sanctions and have lost their past efficiency, Belarus can take advantage of Iran’s water borders for having access to the waters in the Persian Gulf region and it can use it for boosting economic tie with Iran as well as exchange of goods with the countries in the region.

Eshqi reiterated that Iran and Belarus have many allies in the region that through convergence with these countries, both sides can reduce the damages of sanctions and strengthen their economies.

Then members of the Belarussian delegations which were mostly representatives food industries held some B2B meetings with Iranian business counterparts and exchanged views for the future cooperation.

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According to reports, the webinar was held by Tehran Chamber of Commerce where some economic activists of Iran and Belarus as well as the ambassadors of the two countries were present.

In the event, Secretary General of Tehran Chamber of Commerce Mr. Bahman Eshqi announced readiness of the chamber for hosting the delegation of Belarusian entrepreneurs in the upcoming months and reminded that Tehran Chamber with sending invitations to this Belarusian association has started plans for gathering and direct talks between the businessmen of the two countries.

He pointed to the West’s sanctions as the commonality of Iran and Belarus and said both sides have potentials to provide required products of the other side, adding that since Belarus is unable to send its products to EU due to sanctions, it can transit its goods via the transit route to Afghanistan and India through Iran.

Eshqi then stipulated that Belarus can resolve Iran’s restriction for broadening its trade exchange with neighboring states by providing containers and wagons on the Astara, Sarakhs and Inchebron routes.

He also criticized Belarus for revaluating Iran’s agro products in Belarusian custom office which leads to the price rise and it reduces the chance of competition of Iranian products with other rivals. He recommended Belarus to define a unified mechanism for revaluating the goods among the Eurasian Economic Union members.

Ambassador of Belarus to Tehran Dmitry Kaslov, for his part, pointed to the interests of the Belarussian companies for joint cooperation with Iranian entrepreneurs in the field of food and agro products, machineries, medicines and apparel and stipulated that his provincial meetings in Iran with officials and economic activists of each province bespeaks of high capacities for cooperation between the two countries.

He also called developing cooperation between provinces of the two states a major stride towards enhancing the economic relations between the two countries and announced readiness of his embassy in Tehran for easing the process for visa issuance for Iranian traders who are introduced by the Tehran Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile Iran’s Ambassador to Minsk Mr. Saeed Yari, for his part, urged the Belarussian government to take serious action for the launch direct flight between Tehran and Minsk and provincial and regional cooperation between the two states will be a good opportunity for improving ties.

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In the meeting, Khansari pointed to the performance of former Belarus Ambassador to Tehran and wished a successful mission for Mr. Koltsov. He also expressed his satisfaction over his visit to Minsk in 2019 heading a trade delegation and said during his he had good meetings with Belarus statesmen as well as private sector activists and it was decided that more trade delegations are exchanged between the two countries and unfortunately the COVID pandemic halted all of them.

Khansari added that during the term of former Belarus Ambassador Yuri Lazarchik the relation between TCCIM and Embassy of Belarus was very good and cooperation between the two countries had increased. He expressed hope that during Mr. Koltsov’s term this tie would deepen and get closer more than ever.

He then pointed to the problems resurfaced due to the sanctions in the trade ties between Iran and Belarus and it seems it is important time for taking steps for revival of the past ties and its development. He said that he recommends chambers of commerce of both countries to have online events in order to pave proper grounds for serious development of economic relations.

Then Koltsov, for his part, hailed the performance of TCCIM in cooperation with the Embassy of Belarus and expressed his content that after serving four years as his country’s commercial attaches in Iran he has returned as the ambassador of his country. He then pointed to the high capabilities of the private sectors of both countries for cooperation and expressed hope that in the near future, the pulse of developing bilateral ties at the TCCIM would start beating.

He added that in talks with the Belarus private sector he has raised the idea of exchange of trade delegations which has been welcomed, adding that economic activists in the private sector of Belarus are keen to visit Tehran and to meet with their Iranian counterparts.

Koltsov went on to say that Embassy of Belarus is ready for any cooperation with TCCIM for easing the process for issuing the commercial visas for Iranian traders and said if TCCIM submits to the embassy the list of those Iranian traders who want to travel to Belarus, the embassy can issue visas in days for them.

He noted that many Belarus companies are keen to talk with Iranian traders for trade of goods, adding that he received three requests from Belarus companies just in the last week for the purchase of dried fruits from Iran. He added that the embassy has a large number of programs for broadening ties with Iran which will be seriously pursued this year in order that they get favorable results in 2023.

Kotsov also welcomed Khansari’s suggestion for holding a webinar, adding that this online event can be held in the upcoming weeks and before Iranian New Year begins in mid-March.

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