Belarus and Iran have significantly expanded areas of cooperation over the past five years, the Iranian ambassador to Belarus Seyyed Abdollah Hosseini said during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko today, BelTA reported.
The diplomat underlined that during his work in Belarus serious steps were taken for the development of Belarusian-Iranian relations. "When I arrived in September 2008, Iranian investments in Belarus amounted to about $6 million and in December 2012 this number reached over $960 million in the form of bank capital and investments," Seyyed Abdollah Hosseini said.
Hosseini noted that over four years, trade turnover between Belarus and Iran has increased three fold. He emphasised that a significant share of goods accounted for the supply of Belaz products to Iran.
Within four years, bilateral cooperation has increased from 10 to 75 areas in the economy, science and culture. Some 38 intergovernmental and interagency agreements were signed within the development of the legal framework of bilateral cooperation.
Belarus's major exports to Iran are composed of trucks, acrylic fibre and tow, metal, tires and bearings. Iran supplies dried fruits, rice, nuts and herbs to Belarus.