SEOUL, May 18 (MNA) – South Korean builders have signed a series of memorandums of understanding to build hospitals in Iran amid widening bilateral cooperation in the health care sector, the health ministry here said Wednesday.


Samsung C&T Corp., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and four other companies signed seven MOUs with Iranian medical schools to build seven medical centers with a combined 6,000 beds in Tehran during a business fair held in the Iranian capital on Saturday and Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The ministry said the deals are expected to be worth US$2 billion in total.

Although an MOU does not guarantee a final contract, the companies will be given priority in further negotiations, it added.

The MOUs came after a series of business deals signed earlier in the month during South Korean President Park Geun-hye's visit to the Islamic Republic.

In a summit with Park, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also expressed his hope to more than quadruple the countries' bilateral trade from $6.1 billion in 2015 to over $30 billion in five years.

By Mehr News Agency