Iran, Belarus determined to expand relations: Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Tehran and Minsk are determined to further expand mutual relations, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

"There is untapped capacity for economic cooperation which should be explored by both countries. We believe that such an action would help enhance the level of trade and economic cooperation," Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with visiting Belarussian Minister of Industry Anatoliy Rusetskiy.

Existing barriers in trade and economic cooperation should be removed as soon as possible to help promote constructive cooperation between the two countries, he said.

For his part, the Belarussian minister said ties between Iran and Belarus are of strategic nature and that the joint resolve to enhance economic cooperation would be significant for both nations, according to IRNA.

"The prospect for ties between the two countries is very promising. We will be able to remove barriers to meet the two nations' interests," Rusetskiy was quoted as saying.

Belarus and Iran established diplomatic relations in 1992 and the two sides have enjoyed good relations in recent years with regular high-level meetings and various agreements.

Iran has signed an agreement to launch an assembly line of the car production in Belarus and has also established a bank in Belarus in a bid to facilitate financial and banking services between the two countries.