BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/05/2007

Iranian President Visits Belarus

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad arrived in Minsk on May 21 for a two-day official visit, Belarusian media reported. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka thanked Ahmadinejad for his "constructive approach to the development of cooperation in the oil and gas industry." "You have granted Belarus's wish and allocated the [oil] deposit we wanted. Our experts have already explored it and are ready to extract oil on Iranian territory today," Lukashenka added. Ahmadinejad noted that the two countries have similar stances on international issues. "It is necessary to create a balance in the world. We are against a unipolar world and pressure on other countries," the Iranian president said. "We are friends and are full of determination to develop cooperation. We do not have boundaries for cooperation with Belarus," Ahmadinejad added. The two sides signed a number of documents, including agreements on cooperation in banking and between their education ministries. Trade turnover between Belarus and Iran in 2006 amounted to some $35 million. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/05/3-CEE/cee-220507.asp

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