The minister made the remarks a day before Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and a delegation’s trip to Belarus.

Following agreements made between the Iranian and Belarusian presidents on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2022, a high-ranking oil delegation from Belarus paid a visit to Tehran and held talks with senior officials of Iran’s Oil Ministry and manufacturers, opening a new chapter in bilateral cooperation in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries, Owji added.

The two countries’ oil delegations have recently met and exchanged views on specialized cooperation, said the minister, underlining, “We have to make every effort to make the first vice president’s visit to Belarus produce the desired results.”

Pointing to the first and only cooperation between Iran and Belarus in an oil project in 2012, which came to a standstill due to some Western countries’ pressures, Owji said Belarus has changed its foreign policy and expanded its relations with Eastern countries, including Iran, paving the way for broadening bilateral cooperation.

He voiced Iran’s readiness to supply Belarusian companies with oil, gas, petrochemical, and industrial equipment, adding, “We also welcome Belarus’s investment in projects for developing Iran’s new oil fields, and Iranian consultants and contractors are eager to participate in the Belarusian gas transmission and distribution projects.”

Iranian first vice president and his accompanying delegation are scheduled to leave for Belarus on Tuesday and hold talks with the country’s president, prime minister, and Parliament speaker during their one-day stay.