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Afghanistan Views Iran as Strategic Partner
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta described Iran as the strategic partner and trustworthy neighbor of his country, underlining that no one can leave a negative impact on the two states' desirable relations.
According to a report released by the Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Bureau, Spanta made the remarks in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki here in Tehran on Tuesday, where the two sides explored avenues for the consolidation of bilateral relations and discussed regional issues.
He further conveyed his president's invitation for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to pay a visit to Afghanistan, saying that his country is awaiting Ahmadinejad's arrival enthusiastically.
The top diplomat mentioned increased trade exchanges, expansion of joint ventures, enhanced cooperation in the campaign against the trafficking of illicit drugs and Iran's assistances to his country's law enforcement bodies as among the main policies pursued by the Afghan government in the current year.
For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki noted the good level of ties between the two countries, and said Iran's friendship and cordial ties with Afghanistan are both natural and a result of plans and decisions, adding that the said elements have come to play a complementary role through time.
He voiced pleasure with the two states' excellent ties, but meantime called for enhanced efforts to promote relations to a deserving level, which he described as an attainable goal, given the firm determination of the two states' senior officials.
Mottaki further termed continued close cooperation and support for the Afghan government as among the Islamic Republic's strategic policies, and reminded that stability and security in Afghanistan require serious support for the Afghan government.
"And we view it (i.e. support for the Afghan government) as a strategic policy in Iran's bilateral ties with Afghanistan," he continued.
The report said that also during the meeting, the two sides exchanged views about consulate exchanges, issues of Afghan immigrants and establishment of an international railroad for the transit of goods between the two countries and the neighboring states.
http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8601210566
He further conveyed his president's invitation for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to pay a visit to Afghanistan, saying that his country is awaiting Ahmadinejad's arrival enthusiastically.
The top diplomat mentioned increased trade exchanges, expansion of joint ventures, enhanced cooperation in the campaign against the trafficking of illicit drugs and Iran's assistances to his country's law enforcement bodies as among the main policies pursued by the Afghan government in the current year.
For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki noted the good level of ties between the two countries, and said Iran's friendship and cordial ties with Afghanistan are both natural and a result of plans and decisions, adding that the said elements have come to play a complementary role through time.
He voiced pleasure with the two states' excellent ties, but meantime called for enhanced efforts to promote relations to a deserving level, which he described as an attainable goal, given the firm determination of the two states' senior officials.
Mottaki further termed continued close cooperation and support for the Afghan government as among the Islamic Republic's strategic policies, and reminded that stability and security in Afghanistan require serious support for the Afghan government.
"And we view it (i.e. support for the Afghan government) as a strategic policy in Iran's bilateral ties with Afghanistan," he continued.
The report said that also during the meeting, the two sides exchanged views about consulate exchanges, issues of Afghan immigrants and establishment of an international railroad for the transit of goods between the two countries and the neighboring states.
http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8601210566
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Spanta made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki here in Tehran on Tuesday.
During the conference, he voiced pleasure with Iran-Afghanistan brotherly ties, and stressed Kabul's resolve to expand the two sides' economic exchanges, cultural cooperation and exchange of views about political issues, regional topics and other issues of mutual interest.
Spanta appreciated Iran's aids and supports for the Afghan people, specially in the last five years, and stressed that Kabul views its relations with the Islamic Republic as exclusively different from its ties with other countries.
He expressed the hope that Iran-Afghanistan trade exchanges and Iran's investments in his country would increase in future.
The top diplomat further stressed that Kabul would never allow any danger to be posed to Iran from inside that country, the same way that Iran has never posed any danger or threat to Afghanistan.
Describing Iran as a victim of narcotics, Spanta reiterated that the Afghan government would never allow the country to be used for posing dangers and threats to Iran along the two states' shared borders.
He viewed the problem of drug plantation and trafficking in Afghanistan as a result of the weakness of the governmental bodies, 28 years of war, interference and occupation of that country.
Spanta said his country has adopted new measures and made fresh arrangements for reinvigorating security and fighting against plantation and trafficking of illicit drugs, and expressed hope that the said measures would yield positive results.
Asked why the Taliban has been reinvigorated despite the deployment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Afghanistan, he said that the rapid toppling and decomposition of the Taliban created an illusion for the Afghan policy makers, the international community and the anti-terrorism coalition as well as other world countries.
"Campaign against terrorism is not restricted to the military and security dimensions, rather there is a need for the government to be present in the various parts of Afghanistan to conduct a social campaign against terrorism," he said.
Spanta further called for a strong campaign to be waged against the real causes of terrorism, adding that campaign against effects is impossible without fighting and removing the causes.
He called on the international community and the regional countries to eradicate those centers which produce ideology for terrorist actions and deal with those who provide terrorists with money and armaments.
"This is a task which must be pursued by the international community very seriously as it cannot be carried out by the Afghans alone," Afghanistan's foreign minister underscored.
http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8601210519