Lukashenko arrives in Tehran for official state-visit
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The two Presidents last met in Samarkand, on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in September 2022.
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Lukashenko accompanied by Iranian trade minister Reza Fatemi-Amin after arriving in Tehran for official state-visit, March 12, 2023 (Belarusian Telegraph Agency)
According to the state's Belarusian Telegraph Agency (Belta), Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko landed in Iran on Sunday and began his two-day tour with a few minutes of meetings with Reza Fatemi-Amin, the Iranian trade minister.
He is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday.
The two Presidents last met in Samarkand, on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in September 2022.
They will first hold a meeting in person and will then be joined by delegations from both sides for official talks.
Both are scheduled to discuss the implementation of projects in areas of industry, agriculture, transport, and logistics. Trade and economic cooperation are expected to top the agenda of Lukashenko’s agenda.
🇧🇾 ✈️ 🇮🇷 NEW : Belarusian President #A. #lukashenko #AlexanderLukashenko has arrived in Tehran, #Iran. #March12 #Europe Diplomacy pic.twitter.com/3NAu7MOLsx https://t.co/bT4xnq7TCg
— A Deniz Ekşioğlu (@_AD_CHANEL6) March 12, 2023
This marks Lukashenko's third visit to Tehran. His last visit was in 2006.
Lukashenko is also due to hold meetings with Iranian Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and a number of top-ranking government officials and senior lawmakers.
Read more: Lukashenko, Xi discussed promoting peace talks for Ukraine: Ambassador
On Saturday, a delegation of Belarusian officials landed in Tehran in preparation for the talks. Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik has already held talks with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met and held talks with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik in Tehran on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/PKjtANQw4C
— Khabar Online (EN) (@KhabarOnlineEN) March 12, 2023
Last month, Lukashenko said that geopolitical shifts were pushing Belarus and Iran to strengthen bilateral ties.
Although he pointed out that bilateral trade was in good standing, he noted that it could be "more voluminous."
In the fiscal year of 2022, the trade turnover between the two countries surpassed $100 million, nearly three times that of the fiscal year of 2021.
Belarusian exports to Iran increased six-times fold over the year and totalled over $81 million.
Exports to Iran from Belarus primarily include potassium fertilizers, timber, synthetic yarn and imports from Iran - food products.
Read more: Iran oil exports hit highest level since reimposition of US sanctions
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
