Belarusian president calls for improvement of economic ties with Iran

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that his country is open for cooperation with Iran and will strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations.

During a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Lukashenko said he is planning to visit Iran in the near future to promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

"Our political, diplomatic relations are at the very high level, but the economic relations need to be improved. We will thus focus on the economy during the visit," he said.

Noting that Iran has invested more than 600 million U.S. dollars in Belarus, he suggested that Iran further increase its investment in Belarusian projects.

"I would like to assure you that we will be always committed to our agreements and will do our best to create good conditions for our partners in Belarus," Lukashenko said.

Zarif, for his part, agreed that Iran and Belarus should raise the level of their economic relations.

He said he is looking forward the visit of the Belarusian president to his country. Endi