TEHRAN, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Bolivia on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on expanding bilateral cooperation in security and defense sectors, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.
The MoU was signed by Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and his visiting Bolivian counterpart Edmundo Novillo Aguilar in Iran's capital Tehran, the report said.
At the signing ceremony, Ashtiani stressed that Iran sought to supply Bolivia with equipment to meet the latter's needs of defending its borders and fighting drug trafficking, adding that such cooperation can be a model for other South American countries.
Novillo Aguilar, for his part, described his Tehran trip as "positive," calling on Iran to further assist his country in the fight against goods smuggling and drug trafficking and in securing the borders.
The Bolivian minister hoped that his visit to Iran would open up large-scale cooperation between the two sides in different areas.
Novillo Aguilar arrived in Tehran on July 16 and met with his Iranian counterpart. During the meeting, the Iranian minister voiced his country's readiness to meet Bolivia's demands for defense equipment and advanced technologies to help it counter threats. ■
