Iran, Afghanistan call for more cooperation in Kabul talks

Kabul: Iran and Afghanistan called for increased cooperation during a trip to Kabul by Tehran’s foreign minister on Sunday, the highest-level Iranian official to visit the Afghan capital since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Taliban government Prime Minister Hassan Akhund during a one-day visit to discuss relations between the neighbouring countries that spar over issues including migration and water resources.

The two sides covered economic cooperation, the situation of Afghan migrants in Iran, border issues and water rights, an Afghan foreign ministry statement said.

Araghchi praised the countries’ economic, trade and political relations in his talks with Muttaqi, according to an Iranian statement, adding he hoped that “during this trip we will be able to further expand the ties in line with the national interests of both sides”, emphasising security and economic arenas.

Muttaqi “expressed hope that (Araghchi’s) visit to Kabul would create further momentum in relations between the two countries and they would enter a new phase of bilateral relations”, the Afghan foreign ministry said. Many countries closed their embassies in Kabul or downgraded diplomatic relations after the Taliban takeover that ousted the US-backed government, but Iran has maintained active diplomatic ties with Afghanistan’s new rulers, though it has yet to officially recognise the Taliban government.

Several Iranian delegations have visited Afghanistan over the years, including a parliamentary delegation in August 2023 to discuss water rights.

Tensions between the countries have intensified in recent years over water resources and the construction of dams on the Helmand and Harirud rivers.

Araghchi said the issues of water and migration demanded expanded cooperation and called for the full implementation of bilateral water treaties, according to an Afghan foreign ministry statement.

Muttaqi said the region was suffering from climate change-induced drought and that Taliban authorities were “trying to ensure that water reaches both sides” of the Iran-Afghanistan border.

Muttaqi and Akhund also called for the situation of Afghan migrants in Iran to be improved and for their “dignified” return to Afghanistan.

Afghans returning from Iran have accused Iranian authorities of harassment, wrongful deportation and physical abuse.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is repatriating illegal nationals to their country “in a respectful manner”.

Iran shares more than 900 kilometres (560 miles) of border with Afghanistan, and the Islamic republic hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world -- mostly Afghans fleeing decades of war.

The flow of Afghan immigrants has increased since the Taliban took power.

Iranian media announced in September the building of a wall along more than 10 kilometres of the eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for migrants.

Officials said at the time that additional methods to fortify the border including barbed wire and water-filled ditches to counter the “smuggling of fuel and goods, especially drugs”, and to prevent “illegal immigration”.