Meeting with Chairman of Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf

Time and circumstances forced Belarus and Iran to intensify cooperation, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran on 13 March.

During the talks, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf expressed confidence that Aleksandr Lukashenko’s visit to Tehran would be “a turning point, a strong boost” to bilateral relations. “What I was told about your today’s meetings suggests that your visit is very effective,” the speaker of the Iranian parliament emphasized. “I think that the regional and international setting is prepared for the development of comprehensive relations with your country. Without any doubt, the rest depends only on us,” he added.

The parliamentarian assured that Iran is determined to implement all the agreements reached. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf expressed confidence that the Republic of Belarus is also firm about promoting bilateral cooperation.

“You articulated it very well when you said that our talks and the visit of our delegation to Iran herald a new stage in our cooperation, that this visit will open a new page in our relations. All this is happening thanks to the initiative of your President. It was he who kept pushing me and our officials all the time to more active cooperation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

According to the President, Belarus and Iran have a long history of relations. “Our cooperation has experienced a certain setback recently. To be frank, it was due to the lack of commitment of the parties to fulfilling the agreements reached at a high level. In other words, we reached agreements, shook hands, and left only to find out later that the work on these agreements was too slow: there was a lot of red tape, bureaucracy. Therefore, although our relations were good, economic cooperation made little headway, and trade and economic relations left much to be desired. Yet, time and circumstances - internal and external – prompted us to become more active,” the Belarusian leader summed up.