Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mining and Trade is scheduled to host a 25-strong business delegation from Belarus this week.
The visiting delegation will comprise businesspeople active in a wide range of fields, including oil and petrochemicals, refinery, textile, pharmaceuticals, paper, forestry, paint, automobile tire, red meat, customs services, railroads, transportation and logistics, the news portal of Tehran Chamber of Commerce reported.
The two sides are due to hold a joint forum to explore ways of expanding bilateral commercial ties at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 6.
Members of chambers of commerce across the country have been invited to take part in the event to negotiate trade expansion opportunities with their counterparts from Belarus.
Those interested in participating in the event have until Sept. 5 to complete and send their application forms.
Belarus Seeks to Expand Economic Ties With Iran
Belarus would like to intensify trade and economic cooperation with Iran, Belarus' Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said recently as he met with the Iranian delegation led by Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Reza Fatemi-Amin, BelTA reported.
“Your visit is important and well-timed. Now is the right time to take a fresh look at our relations, to take steps to strengthen our trade and economic cooperation. We have already established very good and constructive contacts at the political level. Our countries traditionally support each other in the international arena and regularly exchange official visits. The leaders of our states met almost a year ago,” Golovchenko said.
According to the Belarus premier, despite the external pressure, Belarus and Iran provide each other with all kinds of support.
“On all international platforms, be it the United Nations Organization, the Non-Aligned Movement or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, we adhere to such principles as the multipolar world, the inviolability of sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and equal cooperation in the international arena,” he added.
The Belarus-Iran Commission for Economic Cooperation convened the 15th meeting on 28 July.
"We had a very substantive discussion and defined the priority tasks in terms of increasing and diversifying bilateral trade. New areas of cooperation were also outlined. At today's meeting, we want to look again at the tasks that we face, how we can, by mutual efforts, increase trade, open up new areas of cooperation, expand ties in high technology, and hear your opinion on the things we are underperforming,” Golovchenko said.
The Iranian industries minister concurred that the trade and economic relations between the countries should be brought to a new level.
"Our relations are of great importance. I hope that as a result of the meeting, we will make decisions on a wide range of issues," he said.
In 2021, Belarus-Iran trade was estimated at $33.3 million, up by 34.7% over 2020. In January-May 2022, bilateral trade rose by 35.6% year-on-year.
Trade between Iran and Belarus can hit $1 billion, Fatemi-Amin told reporters following his meeting with Golovchenko, BelTA reported.
Interest in Buying Belarusian Mining Vehicles
Discussing Iran’s interest in importing heavy equipment for the mining industry, Fatemi-Amin said this industry is developing at a high pace in Iran and Iran needs a large number of dump trucks in the coming years.
He noted that the National Iranian Copper Industries Company plans to buy about 800 dump trucks from Belarus.
The minister believes that bilateral trade would grow significantly in the near future.
“We plan to step up cooperation in such areas as production of pharmaceuticals, microelectronics, automotive and medical equipment. All this will help us achieve $1 billion in bilateral trade in the near future,” he said.
Iran is interested in large deliveries of BelAZ haulers, BelTA learned from the company's press service.
The Iranian delegation led by Fatemi-Amin visited the Belarusian Automobile Plant BelAZ, along with Belarusian Industry Minister Piotr Parkhomchik and the heads of the country's largest companies, who took part in a meeting of the joint economic commission.
BelAZ’s top managers and representatives of Iranian businessmen discussed a number of issues for promoting a mutually beneficial partnership.
“For the past 10 years, BelAZ machinery has been in great demand in the Iranian market. It is reliable and has proved its worth. Since our plans are to increase production specifically in the mining industry, we would like to get another 800 or so haulers. We chose BelAZ for this purpose,” said Fatemi-Amin.
Parkhomchik noted that the Iranian partners are interested in haul trucks with a capacity of 90-130 tons.
The Iranian minister praised the company's latest development, a 90-ton innovative battery-powered electric haul truck BelAZ-7558E and signed the plant's book of distinguished visitors.
The public joint-stock enterprise BelAZ is the managing company of the holding company BelAZ.
BelAZ is the world's largest manufacturer of haul trucks and transport equipment for the mining industry and the civil engineering industry. It accounts for some 30% of the world market of haul trucks with an extremely large carrying capacity.
The company makes the world's largest haul truck with a carrying capacity of 450 tons.
Food Security Cooperation
Belarus and Iran intend to cooperate in ensuring food safety and developing biopesticides, the Belarusian National Center for Marketing told BelTA earlier, commenting on Belarus's participation in the Iran Agrofood International Agriculture and Food Exhibition held last month.
The Belarusian exposition featured the scientific centers of the National Academy of Sciences, Belarusian State Technological University, Belarusian State University, Belarusian National Technical University and Belarusian State University of Food and Chemical Technologies. It drew high interest among visitors of the exhibition and business community of Iran.
During the exhibition, 25 bilateral agreements were signed with Iranian research centers and educational institutions on joint research and training of highly qualified personnel. The documents also outline the intentions to cooperate in the field of food safety, the distribution of veterinary drugs, the development of biopesticides, the sale of biological products and the setting up of a biotechnology management center.
Participants of Belarus's national exposition also held a presentation of their goods and services at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Iran. The event was attended by about 100 representatives of Iranian companies. The presentation was followed by bilateral negotiations.
The 29th International-Specialized Exhibition of Food, Food Technology and Agriculture, also known as Iran Agrofood 2022, was held in Tehran on June 17-20.
Iran is a major importer of Belarusian agricultural products, food (beef, confectionery), medical equipment and raw materials for medicines. Iran is also increasingly interested in Belarusian industrial products, agricultural machinery, machine tools, passenger vehicles, electric transport and household appliances.
Belarus is interested in supplies of Iranian fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and dried fruits, fish and seafood, products of chemical and petrochemical industries, construction materials, pharmaceutical products and medical equipment.
