TABNAK: Iranian acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri has sent a message in the 2nd meeting of the Regional Contact Group on Afghanistan formed on the Islamic Republic’s initiative back in January as means of helping address existing concerns about the Central Asian country.
“Countries which have occupied Afghanistan are responsible for lack of development and economic problems in the country.” He said in the message announced by his assistant Rasoul Mousavi in the meeting in Tehran.
Bagheri in his message has also emphasized the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for all ‘constructive initiatives’ made for peace, stability and development in Afghanistan.
The message has reiterated that the ‘current ruling body’ in Afghanistan needs to strongly take into considerate the ‘future of Afghanistan’, saying, the nation and government of Afghanistan and other regional countries cannot not accept that occupiers who imposed considerable loss to this country interfere in the issue of Afghanistan under human aid or political motives.
Bagheri in his message has expressed hope that political stability and economic development would be established in Afghanistan through comprehensive participation of all Afghan walks of life and tribes.
The message also highlighted the key role of geopolitics and transport corridors in the world today, saying that given Afghanistan’s geographical position, it could act as a bridge connecting east to west and north to south and take a ‘big step’ towards its development.
The meeting was attended by special representatives from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, and the Russian Federation.
The group’s first meeting took place in the Afghan capital of Kabul on January 18, hosting special representatives and ambassadors from the regional countries and Afghanistan’s neighbors.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after making sweeping advances across the country, which triggered a messy withdrawal by the United States-led foreign forces as well as rapid collapse of the country's the US-trained security forces.
The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the banner of “war on terror.”
The invasion that toppled the Taliban was followed by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians and the displacement of millions of others.
