Iran hosts conference with Afghanistan's neighbors to resolve crisis

Senior officials from Afghanistan’s neighboring countries have gathered in Iran’s capital for a one-day conference to resolve the crises facing the Taliban-ruled country.

The foreign ministers of Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan met on Wednesday in Tehran, joined by their counterparts from China and Russia via video link.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has described the ministerial conference as a diplomatic step by Iran's new administration to enhance convergence and regional links while avoiding the intervention of foreign powers.

According to Iran’s top diplomat, the conference is expected to strengthen good neighborliness and cooperation among neighbors to help Afghan people resolve current crises, including insecurity and poverty.

Neighboring states of Afghanistan must collaborate to improve the security and livelihoods of people in Afghanistan, as well as helping to form an inclusive government, to end four decades of insecurity in the war-stricken country, he wrote in a memo.

Afghanistan and Iran are two brother and neighboring countries, which enjoy abundant commonalities from history and civilization to religion, culture and language, the Iranian FM noted.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has stood with Afghanistan in all critical moments of Afghanistan's history, including resistance in the face of foreign invasion, he wrote, adding that Tehran will spare no efforts to expand and deepen ties with neighboring states in particular Afghanistan.

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