Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran early Monday for Belarus for an official two-day visit.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    TEHRAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran early Monday for Belarus for an official two-day visit, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    "Tehran-Minsk ties are growing in all fields," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport before his departure for Belarus.

    "The two countries enjoy close cooperation in various areas of transportation, energy, industry, economy and trade," he added.

    Ahmadinejad also termed bilateral relations between the two countries as "friendly, consolidated and growing."

    The Iranian president said his visit to Minsk took place upon an official invitation by his Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Minister of Commerce Massoud Mir-Kazemi are accompanying the president in his visit.

    Lukashenko has paid several visits to Iran during his present term, with the latest one on Nov. 5-7 last year, which focused primary attention on the issues of trade and economic cooperation with Iran.

    The economic effect of the latest official visit by the Belorussian president to Iran was estimated at nearly 350 million U.S. dollars, according to Lukashenko's official website.

    Over the last few years, Iran and Belarus have been promoting bilateral economic and political relations.

    Iran believes that Tehran and Minsk have similar views on international affairs and this would be a foundation for the two countries to forge closer relations, while Belarus increasingly views Iran as a major source of oil and gas and a major market for Belorussian industrial goods.

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