TEHRAN - The Iranian Mahak Society to Support Children with Cancer and the Italian Gaslini Children's Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding in Tehran on Wednesday to exchange experience in the field of supporting children suffering from cancer.

The agreement was signed at the place of the Italian embassy in Tehran with the Italian ambassador Giuseppe Perrone in attendance, IRNA reported.

The two sides voiced commitment to cooperate in providing each other with physicians and nurses as well as medical equipment special for children with cancer.

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, the Italian envoy said: “We are supposed to help children who are grappling with health problems. Improving their life expectancy is the main theme of cooperation between the two sides.”

Alberto Martini, the scientific director of the Gaslini Research Institute, for his part, said Mahak and Gaslini will certainly gain better results for offering help to cancer patients. “We know this issue as one of the main goals on our path toward supporting child patients. It is hoped that the cooperation will be expanded in the future.”

Arasb Ahmadian, the managing director of Mahak, for his part, said that scientific, research and medical cooperation is one of the ways for countries to boost relations. Such cooperation can ease, and even remove, effects of sanctions.

MG