Afghan ambassador visits Tehran City Council chairman

In a meeting with Tehran City Council chairman, Afghan Ambassador to Tehran exchanged views on Tehran-Kabul relations with the Iranian official, AVA Diplomatic reports.

In the meeting, Tehran City Council chairman Ahmad Masjed-Jamei welcomed expansion of ties between the two ancient cities of Tehran and Kabul, stressing on common cultural grounds. “Iran and Afghanistan have common features particularly in myth, Persian, rituals, and historical commutation,” said Masjed-Jamei.

He noted the membership of Iran and Afghanistan in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), stressing further utilization of the capacities created by the organization in urban management for the two capitals. Saying 60 stands are placed in Tehran in order for statues of the regions’ personalities to be installed, asking the Afghan envoy to identify figures shared by Iran and Afghanistan so that their statues can be made in collaboration and be installed in Tehran parks.

Ahmad Masjed-Jamei also expressed hope that groundwork for more extended relations in urban, city-dwelling, and citizenship areas can be laid between the two nations through Tehran and Kabul.

In the meeting with Afghan ambassador to Tehran Nassir Ahmad Nour, Ahmad Masjed-Jamei recalled his ministerial tenure in the Islamic Guidance Ministry, saying Iran then published the Encyclopedia of Persian Language and Literature, a part of which was especially dedicated to Afghanistan because “research on Persian is impossible without speaking of Afghanistan.”

Speaking of Tehran’s history, he said Tehran has relation with Afghanistan that might have remained unspoken so far.

Tehran City Council chairman explained that at the time Tehran was being shaped, a woman called Sultan Khanoum, a Safavid princess, who had been educated in Herat school, ran a school and bath later named after her, saying “the existence of such works shows that there were not only Iran-Afghanistan relations, but also that relations between Tehran and Afghanistan were very active.”

Afghan envoy Nassir Ahmad Nour praised Iran’s progress in various areas, saying it is a pleasure to us that Iran stands first in the region and we hope issues such as the sanction and international problems can be resolved as soon as possible with the administration’s prudence and endeavors.

Afghan embassy’s trade attaché Haji Abdol-Hadi Farhang also noted the problems Kabul is dealing with in urban services, saying one of the major problems in Kabul is the water supply network and the non-existence of recycling facilities.

“Many projects have been defined for Kabul as they are financed by World Bank and some investors and urban authorities want these projects to be implemented with the cooperation of Tehran and Kabul city halls,” he reiterated.

Tehran City Council member Valiollah Shojapourian who was also attending the meeting explained the structure and duties of the council for the Afghan diplomat and his entourage, saying Tehran Islamic City Council functions as a parliament but in local scales.

He also expressed hope that opportunity can be provided for the council members to visit Afghanistan in order to exchange different views, experiences and ideas.

The Afghan board also invited the Tehran City Council chairman and other members to visit urban projects in Kabul.