(BelTA) - Economies of Iran and Belarus may complement and benefit from each other, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Belarus Mohammad Reza Sabouri said as he met with Chairman of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee Konstantin Sumar on 26 July, BelTA has learnt.

The Ambassador was in Brest Oblast for the first time and pointed out a high level of social and economic development. The diplomat expressed interest in establishing closer cooperation between the regions. “You need investment, we need food products, which, as far as I know, are produced in Brest Oblast in large amounts and boast excellent quality. Our common objective is to remove problems and hurdles which prevent our businessmen from working more actively on the territory of the two countries. Considering the high level of political relations established by the leaders of Iran and Belarus we cannot be satisfied with the state of economic cooperation. We need to seek out and use new opportunities to develop this cooperation. I think that we have good prospects ahead in this area. It is also important that in order to accomplish this goal the Iranian side set reduced tariffs on the export of Belarusian goods to Iran,” Mohammad Reza Sabouri noted.

Konstantin Sumar underlined that Brest Oblast welcomes the development of cooperation with Iran. According to the Governor, this will give concrete substance to the contacts we declare. “Brest Oblast exports over a half of its food products. We can export them to the countries of the Persian Gulf, too. The only thing that we need is well thought-out logistics, which will make distance unimportant. As far as investment is concerned, our tax legislation lets us work efficiently with any investor. I am sure we have all prerequisites for more efficient cooperation. This meeting will give this collaboration a new impetus,” Konstantin Sumar noted.

During the meeting the sides agreed to develop such form of economic contacts as exhibitions and fairs. To begin with, Konstantin Sumar suggested that the investment and economic potential of Brest Oblast be presented in Iran in the electronic form. Mohammad Reza Sabouri invited Brest Oblast officials to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During his working visit Mohammad Reza Sabouri partook in an opening ceremony of the multifunctional shopping and administrative complex Didas Persia built in Brest by Iranian investors. Currently seven enterprises with Iranian capital are operating in Brest Oblast.