Now is the moment to help Afghanistan, Iran says
Kabul, Nov 16 (EFE).- Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, said in Kabul on Tuesday that after the end of the United States’ occupation of Afghanistan, now the international community had a “good opportunity” to help the country.
An Iranian delegation headed by Qomi, who had arrived in the Afghan capital a day earlier, on Tuesday met Afghan Trade Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
“As Mr. Muttaqi said, the people of Afghanistan fought for their freedom and now the invader is out of Afghanistan. This is a good opportunity for all the countries who are trying to help Afghanistan after the occupation,” Kazemi said in a joint press conference with the Afghan foreign minister.
Muttaqi said that during the talks, the two sides had made progress on areas such as ” the economy, agriculture, migrations, and Islamic values and culture,” adding that this was a good moment for bilateral relations.
“The available opportunity is not only good for Afghan people, this is useful for the people of Iran as well,”. the minister stressed.
A number of official Taliban sources confirmed to EFE that the Iranian delegation had arrived on a three-day official visit to Kabul on Monday, and was expected to meet other leaders of the regime on Wednesday.
Afghan government spokesperson Enamullah Samngani told EFE that after bilateral talks, the two sides on Tuesday decided to “establish various groups and cooperation committees for working on different fields” of common interest.
Ties between Tehran and Kabul are significant for the future of Afghanistan, even as an estimated three million Afghan refugees are living in Iran.
Afghanistan has sought international support to overcome its severe economic crisis, which has been aggravated by the disruption in the supply of aid after the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, followed by the withdrawal of US forces before the deadline of Aug. 31, ending their two-decade long occupation of the country. EFE
