The Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR) and the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) under the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have agreed to cooperate. The cooperation memorandum was signed within the framework of the international science to practice conference “Strategic analysis and forecasting. Belarus in the global world”, BelTA has learned.

The sides are interested in holding subject studies, roundtable sessions involving experts, in the realization of joint projects.

Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Head of the Institute for Political and International Studies under the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Hassan Sheikholeslami remarked that it was his first visit to Belarus. “I am glad to be in Minsk. As a result of agreements of supreme leaders of the two countries, as a result of the implementation of their decisions the bilateral relations advanced at an unprecedented pace in the last two years,” he said.

At the same time interaction at the expert level does not match dynamics in politics and economy, Mohammad Hassan Sheikholeslami believes. “Illegitimate and unfair sanctions have been enforced against our countries by unfriendly states. And cooperation between the think tanks of Iran and Belarus represents a good opportunity for exchanging opinions about topical matters. Direct communication channels will be established for prompt response and for working out decisions,” the IPIS head said.

Among promising cooperation avenues he also mentioned the organization of educational courses for young diplomats, interaction in the sphere of archive keeping and documentation. Belarusian experts are expected to visit Tehran in late November to participate in the Tehran Dialogue conference.

“It is a great honor for me to invite Oleg Makarov and his colleagues. We will be able to talk on the sidelines of the conference and plan next steps to advance cooperation,” Mohammad Hassan Sheikholeslami said.

In turn, Oleg Makarov, Director of the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR), mentioned the high level of representation of the Iranian delegation. The fact indicates the seriousness of intentions of the partners. “We are opening a new page in interaction between the think tanks. We are interested in Iran's experience of counteracting sanctions and of developing the economy. We hope that the expert dialogue will contribute to the advancement of economic ties among other things,” he remarked.

The parties intend to first and foremost exchange analytics relating to regional instability and relating to economic affairs.

Representatives of analytical services of leading government agencies of Belarus and the BISR's foreign partners are taking part in the international science to practice conference “Strategic analysis and forecasting. Belarus in the global world”. The number includes top officials and experts of Azerbaijan's Center of Analysis of International Relations, the Center for Russian and CIS Studies of the Institute for European Studies of the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kyrgyzstan, the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR), Russia's Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Türkiye's Center for Eurasian Studies (AVIM), the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Secretariat of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The experts are expected to discuss peculiarities of analytics, its role and place in the modern world, and international cooperation. Participation of analysts in diagnosing the problems of development of the country's regions, communication and interaction with officials, civil society, scientific institutions, nuances of working with Big Data technologies, statistics, social networks, and other things are also high on the agenda.

Written by belta.by