BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/11/2006

Belarusian President in Tehran

TEHRAN, Nov.6 (ISNA)-Iran's President, Mahomoud Ahmadinejad, welcomed his Belarusian counterpart, ALelexander Lukashenko, in an official ceremony held at the Presidential Office here this morning.

The Belarusian President is on an official two day visit in Tehran to meet high ranking Iranian officials.

The Belarusian foreign minister, Sergey Martinov who had traveled to Tehran a little before, had informed that Lukashenko would make a trip to Iran in order to enrich mutual governmental relationships and to carry out a few valuable economic projects.

Sergey Martinov had also asserted that Iran and Belarus had common solutions to the existing international issues.

Lukashenko who is visiting Iran for the first time arrived at Tehran on Sunday night.

Ahmadinejad and Lukashenko took part in a joint press conference after the morning ceremony in order to explain the goals of this trip.

"Iran and Belarus are two independent countries who have a good relationship on various grounds with each other," stated Ahmadinejad.

"I hope we can witness the enhancement of mutual ties in education, technology, culture and tourism," he added.

"I believe that the Belarusian President's trip to Iran would be a turning point in Iran-Belarus relations," he commented.

"Iran and Belarus have no limitations or obstacles for expanding their ties and we can develop our mutual relationship in all fields because the two countries have got many capabilities," he reiterated.

For his part, Lukashenko stated that a delegation of experts, specialists, directors of companies and various organizations were accompanying him on this trip and he said that he hoped they and their Iranian counterparts would reach appropriate agreements in the fields of education, economics and technology.

He also asserted that Belarus was an independent country and had no limitations in maintaining relationships with countries like Iran.

"Both countries have common views towards international issues and we hope that the economic and commercial ties of both countries are enhanced," he concluded.

Lukashenko has perpetually criticized the western and U.S. policies.

He has introduced himself in Belarus as the "Man of the People" and is strongly against expansion of the NATO and the velvet revolutions in neighboring countries.

He also served the K.G.B. in the Soviet Union before the independence of Belarus. He entered the world of politics in 1991 and formed a group named Democratic Communists and in the year 1993 he was elected as the chief of anti corruption committee in Belarus parliament where he accused 70 high ranking government officials of corruption.

He was elected the President of Belarus in 1994 by gaining 45% percent of votes.

He was also elected as the President for the second (2001) and the third time (2006) of his service. In 2006 he became the president by gaining 84.2% of the votes.

Lukashenko is very active in supporting countries that confront the U.S. and his policies have caused the west to hold strong stances against him. The U.S. has always been disappointed by the relationship of this country with others like, Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

The Republic of Belarus, a former Soviet state, is a landlocked state in northeastern Europe with a population of 10.2 million. Its capital is Minsk.

It is bounded by Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest, by Ukraine to the south, by Russia to the east and by Poland to the west.

Source:

http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-819752&Lang=E