Ecuador’s Defense Minister Javier Ponce said on Thursday that his country was seeking defense ties with Iran.
His remarks come as Washington has expressed discomfort with Tehran’s growing influence in Latin America.
“We have our own policies, our own geostrategic positions, and what interests us, with Iran for instance, is boosting information technology and national defense strategies,” he told a radio channel in Ecuador, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV channel.
Ponce said that Ecuador was seeking to “open up collaboration with nations that are very willing to help Ecuador develop its own defense industry.”
During a visit to Iran last December, the Iranian and Ecuadorian presidents agreed to establish embassies in Tehran and Quito.
Following that visit, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said that he had looked into buying weapons from the Islamic Republic, reports AFP.
Ponce also met his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Mostafa Najjar, during that visit. Both defense ministers expressed hope that Iran and Ecuador will be able to expand their defense cooperation, reports the Fars news agency.
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