Iran, Belarus to Form Specialized Working Group: Deputy Oil Minister

Iran and Belarus agreed to form a specialized oil, gas and petrochemical working group, said the Iranian deputy oil minister for international affairs and trade.

Talking on the sidelines of his meeting with Belarus’s Belneftekhim Chairman Andrei Rybakov in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Tuesday, Ahmad Asadzadeh added the two sides also exchanged views on cooperation in the oil industry.

Earlier in the day, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and Rybakov signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the oil sector on the sidelines of a meeting between Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko.

According to the MoU, Iran will export technical and engineering services, oil equipment, and petrochemical products to Belarus, and the two countries will cooperate in the technology-related fields and use a barter system to trade.

Owji, Industry, Mine and Trade Minister and Iran-Belarus Joint Economic Commission Chairman Abbas Aliabadi, Agriculture Minister Mohammad-Ali Nikbakht accompanied Mokhber during the one-day visit to Belarus.

The first vice president was invited by the Belarusian premier concurrent with the 30th anniversary of official relations between the two countries.

During his meeting with Golovchenko, Mokhber said the expansion of Tehran-Minsk relations over the past two years is expected to serve the two nations’ economic and commercial interests, as well.

The first vice president added Iran-Belarus trade volume could increase to US$1 billion per year. - Shana