The Afghan ambassador to Tehran said Kabul welcomes Iran’s assistance in reconstruction projects in the war-wracked country.
In an interview with IRNA published on Saturday, Nasir Ahmad Nour praised Iran for hosting hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals while being under heavy western sanctions.
Referring to the damage caused by years of conflicts in the country, he said, “Afghanistan welcomes participation of Iranian private and public sectors in the reconstruction process in the country.”
The ambassador touched on the aid Iran provided to Afghanistan as part of the commitments it took on at the 2002 Tokyo conference on Afghanistan and said, “Unlike certain states, Iran has truly fulfilled its commitments in assisting the war-stricken Afghanistan more than others by donating some 350 million dollars to the country.”
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He also called Iran the primary supporter of Afghan refugees and said, “The greatest aid that Iran provided to Afghanistan is hosting refugees and keeping the doors of its schools and universities open to the Afghan young generation.”
Ahmad Nour said the Afghans who graduated from Iranian schools and universities offer great potential for reinforcing deep relations between the two nations.
The Afghan official continued, “Iran and Afghanistan have been enjoying good relations at bilateral, regional and international levels and the two states have been able to complement each other.”
The envoy said, “There are many grounds for cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan in various fields, such as business, mining, agriculture, health and medical care, culture as well as science and technology.” He also called for improved regional cooperation between Tehran and Kabul.
Referring to an upcoming trip by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to Iran, he said Tehran and Kabul are preparing a strategic comprehensive document on mutual cooperation, which is expected to be signed by the two presidents in the near future.
Ahmad Nour referred to his two-year stay in Iran as his country’s representative and said, the Iranian nation and government have truly had good intentions toward the Afghan people and have never “left their brothers alone,” despite being under the pressure of sanctions.
The official said the Afghan president plans to visit Iran in the near future in response to a trip by President Hassan Rouhani to Kabul in March 2014.
He said while the visit is political in essence, but economic issues will also be discussed by the two presidents.
