Red Crescent societies of Iran and Afghanistan in a meeting on Thursday explored avenues for closer cooperation. In the meeting between officials from the Iranian Red Crescent Society and Afghan Red Crescent Society in Kabul, the two sides reviewed the conditions of Afghan refugees in Iran, IRNA reported. Nearly 1.6 million registered Afghans are living in Iran from among 1.63 million migrants, according to the National Population and Housing Census conducted from Oct. 2016-Feb. 2017. There is no precise data available on the total number of Afghan refugees (legal and illegal) in Iran. According to the Interior Ministry in early 2016, almost 2.5 million Afghans resided in Iran of which only one million had valid documents. Officials of the two Red Crescent societies also discussed export of Iranian-made medicines to Afghanistan. Cooperation in building a hospital and establishment of an Iranian Red Crescent Society office in Afghanistan was also discussed.
