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Iran stands for closer cooperation with Belarus

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Iran stands for the expansion of cooperation with Belarus, said Head of the Presidential Office of Iran Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie as he met with the First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko on 29 January.

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie expressed his satisfaction with the implementation of the Belarusian-Iranian projects. “We are happy with the cooperation in the energy sector, but we do not have any limits for cooperation in other fields, our partnership can be further expanded,” said Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie. He also said that Belarus and Iran have a huge potential for the development of their economies. The rapprochement of Belarus and Iran will be beneficial for both nations.

At the same time, the friendship between states and peoples requires considerable joint activities in the economic field. “Iran has a big program of the economy development at the international level, and Belarus is a very good partner for us. I am happy that we have already begun implementing our joint projects. I hope they will develop dynamically,” said Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko expressed gratitude to the Presidential Administration and the Government of Iran for the creation of necessary conditions to implement the oil production project at the Iranian Jofeir deposit. “I think that literally in 1,5 or 2 years the project will start yielding profits. The oil produced there will be sold on the international market for the benefit of Belarus and Iran,” Vladimir Semashko said. “To advance into other countries for oil production is extremely important for Belarus,” he added.

Vladimir Semashko pointed to the growing trade and economic cooperation between the countries despite some problems related to the global crisis. “The two countries have been accumulating the potential for making a breakthrough in the bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The projects we are implementing should yield results which are important for the two countries,” Vladimir Semashko is sure.

Necessary mechanisms have been designed to promote joint projects. These mechanisms are applied by the Belarus-Iran commission for trade and economic cooperation. At its last session in December 2009 the commission reached concrete agreements and signed documents on the delivery of BelAZ mine trucks to Iran and on resuming the MAZ trucks assembling in that country, the First Vice Premier said.

In his words, Belarus is ready to offer wider cooperation to Iran to exploit the industrial potential of the two countries in full. Setting up assembly facilities is one of the most promising areas.

According to Vladimir Semashko, Belarus’ Government aims to create favorable conditions for the Iranian business. The Iranian companies including Azarab and Kayson have already launched their projects in Belarus. A special emphasis is placed on the Samand car production. “We had some problems with the project. We hope it will be gaining momentum from now on. We are able to settle issues to make both the sides happy,” the First Vice Premier said.

Belarus and Iran established diplomatic relations in March 1993. The two countries have signed 35 interstate and interdepartmental agreements. The participation of Iranian companies in the implementation of a number of investment projects on construction and infrastructure modernization in Belarus is a promising avenue of cooperation. As of 1 January 2009 six Belarusian-Iranian joint companies and eighteen Iranian companies were registered in Belarus. In January-November 2009 the trade turnover between the two countries totaled $65.2 million (the Belarusian export to Iran amounted to $57.1 million). The main commodity items of the Belarusian export are synthetic fibers, metal products, trucks, tractors, and potash fertilizers.

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