Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said the Islamic Republic’s security and stability and those of Afghanistan are interconnected, calling for closer cooperation between Tehran and Kabul to resolve issues affecting bilateral relations.
Araghchi met with Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the acting prime minister of Afghanistan, in Kabul on Sunday. “We are happy that after four decades, overall security has been established in Afghanistan, and acceptance of diplomats at a high level and the maintenance of relations show that Iran has strong relations with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” he said.
“Iran's security and stability depend on Afghanistan’s security and stability, and the recent developments in Afghanistan have led us to conclude that cooperation with the Islamic Emirate should be further expanded,” Araghchi emphasized.
On the lingering water dispute between the two neighbors, Araghchi said Iran demands that the terms of the Helmand River Treaty of 1973 be fully implemented. Under the agreement, Afghanistan is supposed to allow the flow of water from Helmand into Iran. The treaty has never been fully implemented as Iran’s share of the water has steadily dwindled due to excessive irrigation and dam construction in Afghanistan.
Araghchi said the water dispute and the increased number of Afghan refugees in Iran called for closer cooperation between Tehran and Kabul to resolve the issues. He said Iran was committed to returning illegal Afghan refugees.
The Afghan leader, for his part, called for an increase in such visits to strengthen diplomatic, political, and economic relations between the two Muslim countries.
Araghchi arrived in Kabul on Sunday morning for talks with officials there. This is Araghchi’s first visit to Afghanistan since he was appointed as Iran’s foreign minister. A team of economic experts is accompanying the top diplomat on his visit to Kabul.
IRNA