IEA absence from Tehran talks won’t affect bilateral ties: Bahrami

KABUL (Pajhwok): Mohammad Reza Bahrami, Director General for South Asia at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that the absence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) from a regional meeting of special envoys in Tehran will not affect bilateral relations between the two neighbouring countries.

On Sunday, Iran hosted the meeting of regional special representatives on Afghanistan, which included Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China and Russia.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting in Tehran, Bahrami addressed the absence of IEA representatives despite an official invitation, emphasising that while Iran respects their decision, it does not undermine bilateral relations or ongoing cooperation between Tehran and Kabul, Tasnim News Agency reported.

“Our assessment was that the presence of an Afghan representative could have helped accelerate Afghanistan’s integration into regional political and economic frameworks, but we respect their decision,” Bahrami said.

Referring to Iran’s approach towards developments in Afghanistan, he added that Tehran supports Afghanistan’s political and economic integration into regional structures and mechanisms, and considers the country’s stability to be “dependent on collective cooperation among regional states.”

Earlier, Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), told Pajhwok Afghan News that the IEA had been invited to the Tehran meeting but chose not to attend.

Explaining the decision, he said the IEA maintains continuous and active relations with all regional countries through organisations, formats, and bilateral mechanisms and has made significant practical progress in promoting regional understanding and cooperation.

kk/sa