Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has termed using the national currencies in Iran and Belarus trade exchanges as one of the significant tools in strengthening the economies of the two countries.
Addressing a joint meeting of high-ranking delegations of Iran and Belarus in Minsk on Tuesday, Mokhber emphasized the need for de-dollarization in bilateral exchanges and noted that "there is no reason to conduct our economic exchanges with the enemy's currency”.
The Belarusian government has a special place in Iran’s foreign policy, he said, adding that the serious strategy of the Iranian government is to promote Tehran-Minsk relations in all areas.
Referring to the existing determination of Iran and Belarus, he said that they need to make necessary decisions to meet the needs of the two nations as soon as possible.
Pointing to Iran’s membership in the BRICS group of emerging economies and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Mokhber said that the Islamic Republic of Iran supports Belarus’ membership in these two organizations.
Belarus also has membership of the Eurasian Free Trade Organization and other regional treaties, he said, adding that Iran and Belarus can achieve more success in the fields of economy by using the capacities of these bodies.
Iran is in the center of 15 countries, and Belarus can use Iran’s corridor capacity for export and transit of goods without any worries, he further noted.
Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, for his part, described the joint interactions between Tehran and Minsk as constructive, emphasizing that Iran and Belarus have a lot to say in the international arena and that bilateral cooperation will be the source of peace development in the world.
He added that the volume of trade between Iran and Belarus has tripled over the last year and it has faced 25% growth due to the resulting agreements.
At the meeting, the ministers of industry, oil, and agriculture of Iran and Belarus expressed their strategies to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in these areas, including Iran's readiness to supply parts and equipment needed by Belarus in the field of oil, gas and petrochemical products, facilitating the issuance of long-term business visas, and signing an agreement on cooperation in the forestry and animal husbandry sector to meet the food requirements of the two countries.
During the meeting, it was decided that within a month, the ministers of industry of Iran and Belarus, as the heads of the joint economic commission of the two countries, will prepare and submit a plan for joint action to pursue bilateral agreements and prepare the grounds for vising Iranian President to Belarus.