Iran, Afghanistan Ink Strategic Cooperation Pact
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Senior national security officials from Iran and Afghanistan in a meeting in Tehran today signed a strategic cooperation agreement between the two neighboring countries.
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili and Afghanistan's National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta signed the agreement after a meeting in Tehran on Monday.
Describing Iran-Afghanistan ties as “deep and amicable”, Jalili stressed that the agreement will bolster strategic cooperation in various spheres.
He also referred to the development as a “brilliant step” in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran favors security, stability, progress and welfare of the Afghan nation,” Jalili added.
The Afghan official, for his part, expressed the hope that the strategic cooperation pact would fulfill the mutual interests between Tehran and Kabul.
Iranian officials have repeatedly called for a regional solution to the existing problems in Afghanistan and underlined the necessity for the termination of foreign forces' presence in the war-torn country.
Also, Iran has hosted many refugees from Afghanistan, though it has received little international support.