TEHRAN – Head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) Masoud Khansari and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Islamic Republic of Iran Dmitry Koltsov met on Wednesday to discuss ways of expanding trade ties between the two countries.

During the meeting, the officials stressed the need for promoting bilateral economic ties between private sectors of the two nations, the TCCIMA portal reported.

Discussing the bilateral relations and the problems facing the traders of the two countries, Khansari and Koltsov also explored the conditions for the development of trade relations between the two countries.

Speaking at the meeting, Khansari mentioned his visit to Belarus in 2019, saying: “during that visit, we had very positive meetings with government officials and the private sector of Belarus, and it was decided that more trade delegations would be exchanged between the two countries; unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic postponed all meetings.”

Khansari also praised the performance of the former Belarusian ambassador to Tehran, saying that there were good and deep relations between TCCIMA and the Belarusian embassy during his tenure which led to constructive cooperation.

He further expressed hope that during Koltsov's tenure these relations would deepen and the cooperation would become broader than before.

Referring to the problems created by the sanctions in the relations between the two countries, the TCCIMA head added: "Now seems to be an important time to take steps to revive the past relations and develop them. Therefore, I suggest a virtual event to be established between the chambers of commerce of the two countries in collaboration with the embassies in order to provide a suitable platform for the serious development of economic relations.”

Koltsov for his part praised the performance of the TCCIMA in cooperation with the Belarusian embassy and underlined the high potential of private sectors of the two countries for cooperation in various areas.

Belarus, as a member of the Eurasian Union, could play an important role in improving Iran's trade relations with the bloc, he said.

EF/MG

Photo: TCCIMA Head Masoud Khansari (L) and Belarusian Ambassador to Tehran Dmitry Koltsov