Iran and Sudan have emphasized their willingness to bolster their bilateral ties, saying further cooperation between the two will help both countries progress.

“There are many areas to increase bilateral cooperation whose implementation will cause increasing progress and prosperity in the two countries,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, IRNA reported.

In a meeting with Sudanese minister of state for foreign affairs, Kamal Hassan Ali, Ahmadinejad highlighted the significance of close ties between Khartoum and Tehran in establishing security and peace in the region.

“Iran and Sudan will always stand together and the enemies cannot damage the relations between the two nations,” the Iranian president stated.

Hassan Ali, for his turn, called for a promotion of Tehran-Khartoum ties and stressed that cooperation between the allies would favor security in the two countries and the region.

In a separate meeting with the Sudanese official, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi hailed Sudan as a great Muslim nation and highlighted Tehran's willingness to boost relations with Khartoum.

Salehi also called for vigilance against colonial powers' scheme to systematically debase cooperation between developing countries and stunt their progress.