A senior diplomat vowed Iran’s support to help guarantee security in Afghanistan, as the South Asian country faces a rise in terrorist operations.
In a meeting with Chief Executive of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah in Tajikistan on Friday, Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi warned that terrorist groups are likely to resettle in Afghanistan and Central Asia after their defeats in Iraq and Syria, Tasnim News Agency reported.
“We consider the security of Afghanistan as our own security,” he underlined, saying Tehran will provide Kabul with whatever help necessary in fighting off the terrorist groups.
Abdullah voiced Afghanistan’s readiness to accelerate the implementation of a comprehensive document on Iran-Afghanistan cooperation.
"The Afghan government’s top priorities in interaction with Iran, as stipulated in the comprehensive cooperation deal, are security, water issues and economic partnership," he said.
The two officials met on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of he Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which focused on boosting cooperation in fighting terrorism, besides deliberating on pressing regional and global issues.
SCO is a regional cooperation organization that represents a large area and population, with member states accounting for about 20% of the global economy and 40% of the world population.
It was established in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, but India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
Iran currently has observer status in the organization and has applied for full membership.
Sarmadi, who attended the SCO meeting at the head of a high-ranking delegation, also held separate talks with the energy and foreign ministers of Tajikistan on a range of issues, including ways of boosting ties between Tehran and Dushanbe in diverse fields.
He voiced Iran's readiness to deepen relations with Tajikistan in all areas, economy in particular.
Tajik Minister of Energy and Water Resources Usmonali Usmonzoda hailed the performance of Iranian companies and engineers in his country’s development projects.
