The Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research and the Institute for Political and International Studies under the Iranian Foreign Ministry have agreed on cooperation. The memorandum was signed within the framework of the international scientific and practical conference "Strategic analysis and forecasting. Belarus in the global world".
The parties are interested in conducting case studies, round tables with the participation of experts, and implementing joint projects.
As the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Head of the Institute for Political and International Studies at the Iranian Foreign Ministry Mohammad Hassan Sheikholeslami noted, this is his first visit to Belarus. "I am glad to be in Minsk. As a result of the agreements of the top leadership of the two countries, implementing their decisions over the past two years, bilateral relations have received unprecedented development," he said.
At the same time, according to Mohammad Hassan Sheikholislami, interaction at the expert level does not correspond to the dynamics in the political and economic spheres. "Illegal and unfair sanctions have been imposed on our countries by unfriendly countries. And the cooperation of the "think tanks" of Iran and Belarus is a good opportunity to exchange views on relevant issues. Direct communication channels will be created for rapid response and decision-making," the Head of the Iranian Institute for Political and International Studies said.
Among the promising areas, he also called the organization of training courses for young diplomats, cooperation in the field of archives and documentation. Belarusian experts are expected to visit Tehran at the end of November to participate in the Tehran Dialogue conference.
"It is a great honor for me to invite Oleg Makarov and his colleagues. On the sidelines of the conference, we will be able to communicate and plan further steps to develop cooperation," Mohammad Hassan Sheikholislami said.
BISR Director Oleg Makarov, in turn, noted the high level of representation of the Iranian delegation, which speaks of the seriousness of the partners' intentions. "We are opening a new page in the interaction of "think tanks". We are interested in Iran's experience both in terms of countering sanctions and in economic development. We hope that the expert dialogue will also contribute to the development of economic ties," he said.
First of all, the parties will exchange analytics related to regional instability, as well as on economic issues.
The conference "Strategic analysis and Forecasting. Belarus in the Global World" is attended by representatives of analytical services of the leading public administration bodies of Belarus, as well as foreign partners of BISR. Among them are the heads and experts of the Center for Analysis of International Relations of Azerbaijan, the Center for Studies of Russia and CIS Countries of the Institute of European Studies of the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan, the National Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kyrgyzstan, the Emirati Center for Strategic Studies, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (RF), the Institute of World Economy and International relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Center for Eurasian Studies of Turkey (AVIM), the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan, as well as the CSTO Secretariat.
Experts discuss the specifics of analytics, its role and place in the modern world, and international cooperation. The focus is also on the participation of analysts in the diagnosis of 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 and social networks, etc.