Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamamd Javad Zarif who is visiting Pakistan to attend the fifth ministerial conference of Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process, held talks with his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani Tuesday night and expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness to develop cooperation with the South Asian country.
Highlighting Iran’s firm stance on its continued support for Afghanistan's National Unity Government, Zarif added, “by holding the joint Economic Commission meeting between the two countries, we would be able to jointly follow on points of mutual interest.”
Zarif further referred to the directive of Iran’s Leader on the registration of over 300,000 Afghan students in schools whose families have entered the country illegally, adding “those students are presently studying in Iranian schools and this shows the deep level of cooperation between the two neighboring countries.”
Salahuddin Rabbani, for his part, thanked Iran for its participation in the Heart of Asia conference as well as its support for Afghanistan's National Unity Government, presenting the Iranian top diplomat with a report on the process of peace talks in his country.
The Afghan minister further stressed the need for increasing the level of bilateral meetings between the two countries’ officials, calling for closer cooperation in the field of economy as well as fighting terrorism and extremism.
Mohammad Javad Zarif at the first hours of his arrival in Islamabad on Tuesday also held talks with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov and Pakistani National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz.
The Iranian foreign minister is scheduled to deliver a speech at the fifth ministerial conference of Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process and push forward Iran‘s stance on the Afghan issue and introduce the country’s efforts to help Afghanistan‘s peaceful reconstruction and national reconciliation.
He is slated to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as well as Chinese FM Wang Yi and Indian FM Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the conference.
MS/IRN81871550
Your Comment