Delegates from Iran and Afghanistan have met in Tehran, discussing ways to expand cooperation between the two countries, including joint fight against drug trafficking, which Iran said must be strengthened.
The delegations were headed by Iran's Deputy Interior Minister for Security and Law Enforcement Affairs Ali Akbar Pour-Jamshidian, and Abdul Haq Akhund Hamkar, the deputy interior minister for counter narcotics of the de facto Taliban government in Afghanistan.
The meeting took place at the Iranian Interior Ministry, according to a press release by the ministry on Monday.
“One of the main areas of cooperation between the two countries is the fight against narcotics,” Pour-Jamshidian said, calling for enhanced cooperation between police forces of Iran and Afghanistan as a way to strengthen the ongoing combat against drug trafficking.
That cooperation could further expand through joint efforts with Pakistani police forces as well, he noted, while announcing the readiness of the Iranian Police to transfer its experience as it has already possessed "well-trained forces and modern equipment for drug trafficking."
The Iranian official also referred to a measure by the Taliban government in April 2022 to ban poppy cultivation and all types of narcotics.
He said, that was “a very good measure”, which could lead to better results through adopting a broader and more integrated strategy by the Afghanistan government.
Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister, for his part, said that his country is committed to combating drug trafficking, and has managed to contain the cultivation and trafficking of narcotics following the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.
He also expressed gratitude to Iran for hosting millions of Afghan refugees over the past few decades.
