Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said progress and promotion of security in Afghanistan are among Tehran's core policies.
In a meeting with Afghanistan's National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar in Tehran on Saturday, Zarif said the Iranian and Afghan people enjoy cordial relations.
"Afghanistan is a friendly neighbor of the Islamic Republic of Iran and progress and security of this country are regarded as Iran's progress and security," the minister was quoted as saying by Press TV. He urged the two countries to further strengthen cooperation in all sectors.
Zarif pointed to an order by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei ensuring the schooling of all Afghan children in Iran and said, "This indicates that we believe in Afghanistan's progress and development at the highest level."
In a meeting with Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan's government, Abdullah Abdullah, in January, Ayatollah Khamenei ordered that all Afghan children in Iran be permitted schooling regardless of their residency status.
The Afghan official said the Chabahar agreement—recently signed by Iran, Afghanistan and India—is a positive sign of the beginning of fundamental cooperation between Tehran and Kabul. The Chabahar agreement was signed in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Tehran on May 23 to establish a strategic transit and transport route connecting the three countries.
Chabahar is located in the Sea of Oman on the border with Pakistan. It is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean.
The port will be a game changer for regional connectivity, especially for Afghanistan, which can find an assured and reliable alternative access to India via sea. Hanif Atmar also said Afghanistan attaches great importance to bolstering cooperation with Iran and called on all regional countries to improve close cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism.
The Afghan security official was in Tehran for a two-day official visit to meet with senior Iranian officials. He also held talks with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani earlier on Saturday and Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli on Sunday.
