Top security chiefs of Iran and Belarus have discussed ways to promote strategic relations and cooperation on the international scene.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Akbar Ahmadian on Friday met with the State Secretary of Belarusian Security Council Alexander Volfovich in Minsk.

Ahmadian said Tehran and Minsk have a common stance on the need to promote multilateralism in the international system, stressing the importance of promoting bilateral cooperation.

BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and similar frameworks are the “dawn of a new world order,” he said. “Rest assured, we will not return to the past.”

He emphasized the necessity of cooperation among independent countries against the unilateral policies of the West.

“The tools of the old order, which once posed as human rights, global trade, peace, and international structures, have today turned into terrorism, sanctions, and tension,” he said.

“These three tools are used daily by America and its allies, which shows that the old order has lost its effectiveness and has come to an end,” Ahmadian stressed.

The top Belarusian security official, for his part, said the two countries share a stance on building a multipolar world.

Volfovich added that his country’s principled stance is based on avoiding warmongering policies and promoting peace in the region.

During the meeting, Ahmadian and Volfovich urged the two countries’ officials to expand political, security and economic relations.

They also emphasized the need to boost cooperation in the sectors of industry, mines, and trade.

The officials also called for strengthening cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS group of emerging economies.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Volfovich said that Belarus and Iran have the same views on global issues, and advocate for building a multipolar world.

“We understand perfectly well that this is important for the future and development. Amidst the hybrid war unleashed against Belarus and Iran and other countries, Iran proposed to create an anti-sanctions coalition. This coalition will include countries that will band together for their socio-economic development and the improvement of the living standards of their people. This coalition will also prioritize security issues. We have supported all steps along this path,” Belarus’ state news agency, BelTa quoted him as saying.

Earlier in the day, Ahmadian met with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Addressing a joint meeting of high-ranking security officials from BRICS and the Global South in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Wednesday, Ahmadian called for the establishment of an anti-sanctions alliance to promote trade and financial security among the BRICS group of emerging economies.