KABUL: (MEP) Diplomatic ties have always been important for all countries and this trend is also a particular importance for Afghanistan and the countries are trying to strengthen relations with its neighbors.
Having relations with neighboring countries have a lot of good features due to the proximity of the roads and shared borders; but these relations for Afghanistan with its neighbors along with the roads and the borders with two neighbors, especially Iran, has other commonalities as well which strengthen the relations even greater.
Afghanistan has about 978km common border with Iran as well as having the same and common language, religion, culture and tradition that each will have a role in strengthening relations between the two nations.
Afghanistan’s relations with neighboring countries, especially Iran, is important for several reasons:
‘The presence of a large number of Afghan refugees in Iran’
Iran due to the common border with Afghanistan, in the time of the Soviet Red Army troops, welcomed a large number of citizens who fled the country as refugees to the country.
During 1979 to 2001, about 30 percent of the Afghan population as a result of the Soviet invasion, the civil war and Taliban rule, left the country and were sent to neighboring countries.
The Iranian share of refugees were about 2.5 million. Only 10 percent of immigrants have been settled in camps and the rest had been employed in different cities and areas of the country and have tenured the generally entry-level jobs of rural migrants before in Iran.
The Afghan refugees besides having employment in Iran, could also advance their education to a higher level and gain expertise.
However, the situation for Afghan refugees in Iran were more difficult from the Iranian authorities for their presence due to Taliban; But the National Unity Government, after Taliban, put a lot of efforts to improve relations with Iran in the field of readmission of migrants.
The talks and the trend resulted in strengthening of the relations after the decree of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, in May 2015 for the need of education of all immigrant children of Afghanistan and the relations with the country also resulted in greater strength.
‘Coldness and warmth of relationships’
After the fall of the Taliban regime that murdered Iranian diplomats in Mazar-e Sharif, relations between Afghanistan and Iran was taciturn and this trend continued until the government of Hamid Karzai.
Yet, in the past decade, relations between the two neighboring countries have been pleasant and was growing. This is because Iran was ready on Iraq and Afghanistan issues, to hold meetings with the United States and support Afghanistan with shaping new systems.
Iran and United States both insisted to a ‘stable Afghanistan’, are common enemies of “terrorism” which was a potential threat to them.
Cooperation of Iran in the past decade has led Afghan government to develop the bilateral relations and has tried to prevent a threat from Afghanistan to cause its neighbors, including Iran.
Iran and Afghanistan can never stop its relations of widely spread due to old cultural and historical ties since these joint cooperation of commonalities between the two nations and the government’s automatic media might provide beyond the circle of states.
‘Political and macro-economic benefits’
Macro and strategic interests of the two countries that need to develop cooperation in all sectors is justified; but there are people for which neither the interests of the country and nor the interests of Iran, matters. What is important for them is, to destroy the relations and create tensions between the two nations; in order to reach their own purposes.
Politically, Iran has a long border with Afghanistan and has always tried to have good political relations with Afghanistan to prevent the terrorists from entering its country via Afghanistan.
Narcotics is considered one of the other cases which puts the benefits of both countries in a single way and since much of the world’s drug is produced in a number of southern provinces of Afghanistan, therefore Iran is trying to prevent the transfer of such material to its territory, in the fight against drugs, is working closely with the heads of Kabul.
Iran and Afghanistan have many common threats and opportunities for joint cooperation in security sphere. Terrorism and extremism in the past have now have left many casualties on both nations.
The phenomenon is now a common threat to the security and stability of the two countries and the main reason for Iran’s cooperation with NATO and the international community in Afghanistan over the past decade has also been the same problem.
However, by increasing the capabilities and capacities of the country’s security institutions and the capacity of the security institutions in the neighboring countries for the formation of an honest and serious cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism can be hopeful for a better future of security and stability in the region.
On the other hand, Iran to meet its substantial interests, needs in various spheres, including political and security guarantees, cultural issues, export, investment and others in Afghanistan.
Iran and Afghanistan economically have solid and abundant opportunities of joint cooperation for the sustainable development of the two countries. Connecting Central Asia to ports in the south, has been a long dream of Iran that has tried in recent years to connect the northern neighboring countries of Afghanistan via Afghanistan from the southern ports of its country to the sea.
On the other hand, Afghanistan is also due to high dependence on Pakistani ports and problems in this field, desperately looking for an alternative to the way that one of the closest, least expensive and most convenient alternative for Commerce country.
Although trade relations between the two countries has been more one-sided in favor of Iran; Because of the $2 billion in trade, only $500 million was related to the export of Afghanistan and the rest is considered to the import of Iran; but the commercial relations with Tehran due to the convenient transit is the options of the heads of government of national unity.
Thus, the leaders of the National Unity Government (President Mohammad Ashraf and Chief Executive Officer) during the year traveled to Tehran and have noted the commonalities to strengthen this relation.
Chief Executive Abdullah recently went to Tehran and has agreed with the Iranian officials over the commercial use of the Chabahar port to prove that having a lot of commonalities with the neighboring counties can be key solutions to many problems.
