Taliban delegation, Iranian officials discuss political, economic, and transit issues
Jan 09, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], January 10 : Delegation from Taliban and Iranian officials held a meeting to discuss political, economic, transit, security, and trade issues in Tehran.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in an audio recording tweeted by Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said the Taliban wants good relations with all countries, wants to expand its trade and transit ties with Iran, according to Tolo News.
Muttaqi said the technical teams from both sides held separate meetings on technical issues, and the delegation also met with the Iranian foreign minister.
"We met with the Iranian officials and held talks about the current situation (in Afghanistan), discussed political issues and security challenges," he said.
Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, executive director of the Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines, said they also talked with the Iranian officials about buying fuel, and Tehran has pledged to sell high-quality fuel at cheaper prices to Afghanistan.
"Discussions were held on challenges that existed in the past, also on Chabahar port and buying fuel from Iran at an appropriate price," he said.
Earlier, a 26-member delegation of the Taliban led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi left Kabul for Tehran on Saturday evening to meet with Iranian officials.
The exchange comes at a time when Afghanistan is hoping for external financial assistance to revive its economy since the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban last August.
In the meantime, sources from the Taliban's Foreign Ministry said that the ministry has appointed new diplomats to Afghanistan's embassies in Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and China, according to Tolo News.
Previously, a high-ranking delegation from Iran visited Afghanistan on November 2021 and discussed bilateral issues.
Earlier, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said that Tehran's all efforts are for the formation of an all-inclusive government in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is mostly dependent on Iran for goods and fuel and a joint committee was established between Iran and Afghanistan last November to develop Kabul's economy.
