Belarus' President Lukashenko in Iran, meets Raisi

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko flew to Iran on Monday, the first such visit in 17 years, and met with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi. 

Raisi and Lukashenko pledged to bolster bilateral cooperation, particularly in industry, agriculture, transportation and technology. They also discussed using the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union to boost their economic ties, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. 

Lukashenko also met with the Ayatollah Ali Khameini, as did the two countries' foreign ministers.

.@Amirabdolahian held talks with his Belarussian counterpart Sergei Aleinik over a broad range of issues of cooperation in political, economic, scientific, cultural and consular areas. pic.twitter.com/PgOkQbBQ3F

— Iran Foreign Ministry 🇮🇷 (@IRIMFA_EN) March 13, 2023

The following are some highlights from the visit, according to the state-owned Belarusian Telegraph Agency: 

• Iran and Belarus signed a “road map of comprehensive cooperation” that will last until 2026. It mentions cooperation regarding politics, consular matter, science, technology, education and tourism, among other fields. Lukashenko and Raisi first discussed the plan in 2021. 
• The Iranian and Belarusian culture ministries signed a memorandum of understanding, as did the State Committee for Standardization of Belarus with the Iran National Standards Organization. 
• Lukashenko invited Iran to set up joint high-tech manufacturing facilities during a meeting with Iranian Vice President Mohammad Mokhber. 
• Lukashenko and Raisi attended an exhibition of Iranian health care products. 
• Iran and Belarus agreed to recognize each other’s halal certifications. 

Lukashenko's last visit to the country was in 2006.

Why it matters: Iran and Belarus enjoy friendly relations. The two have been brought together by their relative international isolation. Belarus has not sent troops to Ukraine, but did allow Russia to use its territory to invade the country last year. Belarus’ support for the Russian invasion led to US and European Union sanctions last year. 

Iran has long been sanctioned by the United States over its nuclear energy program and is facing increased international scrutiny for its violent crackdown against domestic protests. 

Iran is also helping Russia in the war in Ukraine, most notably by supplying drones. This too has led to international criticism and sanctions from the United States and Europe.

Raisi told Lukashenko during the meeting that the Islamic Republic can help Belarus mitigate the effects of sanctions, according to the Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 

Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin despite tensions in recent years. Lukashenko’s visit to Iran could also be seen as a further strengthening of ties between Iran and Russia. 

Russia will host diplomats from Iran, Syria and Turkey this week for talks on the rapprochement between the latter two. 

Know more: The Belarus visit follows news of Iran and Saudi Arabia resuming diplomatic relations in an agreement brokered by China.