KABUL - Afghan CEO Abdullah Abdullah has met with a number of Iranian officials including the country's President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Khamenei in the past two days.
Abdullah is currently on a three-day state visit to Iran where he is expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements.
Rouhani said on Tuesday night after his meeting with Abdullah that Iran is committed to expanding Kabul-Tehran ties and to lend its support to peace and stability in Afghanistan.
"We welcomed this expansion of bilateral ties in different areas including economic, culture and protection of environment," he added.
Rouhani said that Tehran wants to expand its relations with all its neighbors, particularly Kabul, in all areas.
According to the Iranian Studies News Agency (ISNA), Rouhani stressed the need for enhanced cross-border cooperation to strengthen economic ties and said that Iran stood ready to finalize the strategic deal with Afghanistan. He hoped that Abdullah's trip to the country would prove helpful in a further expansion of bilateral economic, trade and cultural ties.
Abdullah appreciated Iran's support to Kabul and said that Tehran has stood by Afghanistan in their difficult times over the past few decades. He added that both countries wanted the Afghan refugee situation to be legalized in Iran. Abdullah said that Afghan refugees in Iran should be counted. "I hope that we will pave the ground for respectful repatriation of the refugees," he said.
In addition, Abdullah on Wednesday met with the Chairman of Iran's Commerce, Economic and Industrial Coordination Council, Akbar Tarkan.
Abdullah and Tarkan discussed ways to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.
Tarkan said that they have paved the ground for foreign investments in Iran. He added that despite Chabahar, there were 28 other ports in the country. He hoped that Afghan traders would avail the opportunity to invest in Iranian ports.
Abdullah said that Chabahar port was of great economic importance for Afghanistan.
He added that Afghanistan and Iran along with other shareholders should make the most of the port.
"Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) will encourage Afghan investors to invest in Chabahar port and find an alternative to the current trade route," he said.
Afghanistan is currently using Gwadar port in Karachi city of Pakistan.
Hinting at the economic importance of Chabahar, Abdullah said that the port is also of great value for regional countries. "It is the shortest route to connect Afghanistan to international waters," he added.
Abdullah also met with Iranian Vice President and head of Environmental Protection Organization, Masoumeh Ebtekar.
The two leaders stressed on the expansion of bilateral cooperation on environmental protection.
Ebtekar said that Iran had established several environmental protection centers across the region and had also held training programs for National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) in Afghanistan. She said that they wanted to develop the centers and called for Kabul's support to put end to environmental challenges.
Abdullah said that all necessary measures should be taken to protect the environment.
He added that it was the duty of everyone to protect nature.
Abdullah also met with a number of representatives of Afghan refugees, students and traders in Afghan embassy in Iran. They briefed Abdullah on the challenges that they face.
They urged the government to transfer Afghan prisoners to Afghanistan, allocate 50 percent of Iranian scholarships to Afghan refugees and send refugee athletes to international sport events.
Abdullah said that the National Unity Government (NUG) was committed to resolving the problems faced by Afghan refugees in Iran. (Tolonews)