President Park Geun-hye voiced hope Wednesday that a series of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) over bilateral cooperation with Iran would yield “concrete results” to benefit the people of both countries.

Park made the remarks during her meeting with Iran’s Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae.

During Park’s visit to the Middle Eastern state earlier this month, Seoul and Tehran signed a total of 66 MOUs, paving the way for Seoul to win business deals on infrastructure building and energy exploration from Iran.

“After (my) recent visit to Iran, public interest in Iran has increased. Against this backdrop, an understanding has been forged here as to the importance of the development of bilateral ties,” she told the Iranian vice president.

“I hope that the two countries can work together to develop a mutually beneficial partnership.”

Ebtekar said in turn that the Iranian government would make “active efforts” to ensure that the MOUs are followed through.

The vice president also pointed out that Park’s visit to Tehran marked a milestone for a “new level” of bilateral cooperation.

“We hope that based on the deep historical exchanges and cultural affinities, the two nations can continue to build amicable cooperative ties.”

Cheong Wa Dae has said the recently signed MOUs effectively gave local companies an edge in infra-building construction orders worth $37.1 billion, and the figure could eventually go up to $45.6 billion given contracts that can be signed down the road.

(Source: Yonhap)