Following meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi who arrived in the Afghan capital Kabul this morning at the head of a political delegation, met and held talks with Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah in the afternoon.
In the meeting which took place in Sepidar Palace in Kabul, the two sides emphasized the historic and friendly relations between the two countries and announced the work is in progress to finalize the comprehensive cooperation document between Tehran and Kabul.
Araghchi said that the three out of the five committees working on the joint comprehensive cooperation document have concluded their work, while the two others are finalizing their own.
He expressed hope that the document will be finalized as soon as possible for the signing by the leaders of the two countries.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister further referred to a Taliban delegation visit to Tehran earlier this week, saying “the Islamic Republic of Iran supports the Afghan government and Afghan-led peace talks.”
Araghchi also expressed his support for democratic process and the holding of elections in Afghanistan. He also attached great importance to trade exchanges between the two countries, calling for expansion of bilateral economic and trade relations.
Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive of Afghanistan, for his part, expressed his gratitude to the visit by the Iranian delegation.
Abdullah also said that relations between the two countries are based on solid friendship and cooperation, adding that Afghanistan fully supports the finalization of comprehensive cooperation document between Tehran and Kabul. He, meanwhile, emphasized that the two remaining committees’ work should be concluded soon.
Abdullah further expressed his appreciation to the Islamic Republic of Iran for sticking to the negotiating principles that Afghan government holds to in its talks with terrorist groups, and also for informing the Afghan government about Tehran talks with Taliban.
The Chief Executive of the Afghan National Unity Government continued to emphasize that the Kabul government supports peace, while stressing that peace cannot be achieved through destroying the achievements obtained by the Afghan government over the past years.
Abdullah also praised Iran’s support for the Afghan refugees and hosting them, calling for expansion of cooperation between the two countries in that regard.
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