Iran, Afghanistan Agree to Boost Economic Cooperation

 The MoU was inked by Iranian Deputy Economy Minister Behrouz Alishiri and his Afghan counterpart Mustafa Mastoor at the end of the two countries' second joint economic commission meeting in Kabul.

The two sides agreed to increase cooperation in customs, banking and insurance sectors, as well as preventing smuggling of goods at borders.

During the meeting, the Iranian official and his Afghan counterpart stressed the importance of expansion of relations between the two countries in the establishment of peace in the region.

"Iran and Afghanistan economies are complementary for each other; Tehran wishes a stable developed Afghanistan in its neighborhood," Alishiri underlined.

Iran and Afghanistan enjoy expanding ties and cooperation and observers believe that the good achievements gained in area of their mutual cooperation should be deemed as a result of the efforts made by the two countries' leaders.

Earlier this month, a senior Iranian trade official announced that Afghanistan imports 27.6 of its multi-billion-dollar needs from Iran, and said the figure can still increase in future.

"At present 27.6% of Afghanistan's nearly $5bln imports from the world countries is from Iran, which is a considerable figure," Director-General of the Asia and Pacific Trade Office of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization Amir Talebi said, adding that the number can increase in future.