Iran, Afghanistan start talks in five strategic fields

A large delegation of Afghan officials is visiting Tehran today to start a previously arranged series of talks in five strategic fields, Mehr news agency reported June 17.

The two countries had agreed each to assign committees in the areas of security, economy, culture, refugees, and water in order to discuss mutual cooperation in areas of concern.

The Afghan committees will be holding a tightly packed series of meetings with their Iranian counterparts during their two-day stay in Tehran.

The meetings are a long-delayed arrangement that was hoped to follow an unattained agreement during Hamid Karzai’s presidency.

Talks in areas of water and refugees are expected to turn out as the hottest. Water management plans in Afghanistan have led to the eastern Iranian Lake Hamoon drying out.

Also, estimates from the government of Iran indicate that 951,142 Afghan refugees reside in Iran, in addition to 620,000 Afghans who hold Afghan passports and Iranian visas. The government also estimates that there are approximately 1.5-2 million undocumented Afghans living in Iran.