Salehi invited to Belarus to discuss expansion of cooperation

Belarusian officials invited Iranian Foreign Minster Ali Akbar Salehi to Minsk to discuss ways of accelerating expansion of ties and cooperation between the two countries.According to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Bureau, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Martunov submitted a letter of invitation to Salehi during a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 66th UN General Assembly session. At the meeting, Martunov described the two countries' political relations as "excellent", and said, "Iran and Belarus independent views have brought the two countries closer to each other politically, while the two states play complementary roles in area of economy and these elements further deepen the two sides' strengthened relations which match the Iranian and Belarusian president's will." He further viewed increasing cooperation in energy, transportation and joint ventures as among other areas for bolstering cooperation between Tehran and Minsk. Salehi, for his part, hailed the two countries' good political ties, and underlined that economic relations between Tehran and Minsk should grow to match their political ties. He further stressed the resolve of the senior Iranian and Belarusian officials to promote cooperation between the two countries, and added, "The two countries' mutual interests and commonalities along with Iran's regional position and capacities in such various fields as energy, rail and road transit and transportation, industries and science grounds have paved a proper way for the development of cooperation between the two sides. Salehi also thanked the invitation to Minsk, and asked his Belarusian counterpart to pay a reciprocal visit to Iran, which was welcomed by Martunov.