Tehran, Iran, Apr. 17
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan and his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan met on the sidelines of the Moscow International Security Conference 2015.
The two officials discussed enhancing mutual cooperation in the military field.
"The Iran-China defense relations have a bright record and the Iranian armed forces are our very good friends," said Wanquan speaking during the meeting, IRNA news agency reported April 17.
He evaluated Dehqan's last year visit to Beijing as highly useful and successful.
"That trip had a very important role in strengthening Iran-China defense ties," Wanquan asserted.
He also welcomed his Iranian counterpart's initiative during his speech in the conference. The Iranian defense minister had proposed a trilateral security meeting among Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow.
Dehqan for his part said that Iran and China have had successful cooperation in the defense field.
He also pointed to current terrorist movements in Asia and the spread of Takfiri currents into Central Asia, concluding that it is necessary for regional countries to fight the unwelcomed phenomenon.
He further maintained that his proposed trilateral meeting will help the campaign against common threats to the 3 countries.
Tehran is seeking military ties with Beijing while the Islamic Republic has been many years in engagement with Russia in the field of defense.
On January 20, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart, Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, signed an intergovernmental agreement on long term and multifaceted military cooperation in Tehran, Iran.
China has so far been an important partner to Iran especially in economic and trade fields.
In 2014 Iran's crude export to China rose by 28 percent compared to 2013 to hit 27.46 million metric tons, about 550 thousand barrels per day.
Edited by CN