TEHRAN – Iran and Hungary signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Saturday to boost their cooperation in the field of nuclear technology, ISNA reported.

The MOU was inked during a meeting in Tehran between head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi and Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen.

In a press conference after the meeting, Salehi hailed the agreement and expressed hope that the two sides further increase cooperation in the future.

Semjen, for his part, said that relations between the two countries are expanding, adding that Tehran and Budapest are also involved in talks over expansion of relations in other fields such as tourism.

The MOU was signed after several rounds of consultations between the two countries.

Back in February 2016, Salehi said Iran and Hungary had discussed plans to design and develop a small nuclear reactor for Hungary.

The AEOI will “design and develop a 25-megawatt reactor for Hungary,” Salehi told reporters after meeting his Hungarian counterpart in Budapest.

The project “requires a lot of scientific work to come up with such a design, certainly a number of years of hard work. We want to see if we can do this,” he further said.

Following the lifting of international sanctions on Iran, Tehran has strived to fully utilize economic and scientific opportunities, including the pursuit of peaceful nuclear activities.

MH/PA