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Tehran, Jan 28, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said here on Monday that Iran's efforts for reconstruction of the war-torn Afghanistan as well as aids and loans provided by the Islamic Republic for the Afghan nation will benefit national interests.
Addressing domestic reporters, he commented on production of large amount of opium in the neighboring Afghanistan saying that over 80 percent of the narcotic drugs produced in Afghanistan which is transited through Iran to Europe and other world countries are ceased by the Iranian police forces.
Referring to the United Nations' statistics, he added some 4,500 tons of illicit drugs are produced in Afghanistan annually.
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The cost to be paid by the Islamic Republic of Iran for reconstruction of Afghanistan is aimed at securing the joint borders, said Asefi, adding that such moves will finally lead to establishment of tranquility and constructive activities in the two countries' joint border region.
A secure, stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in line with the Islamic Republic's interests, Asefi said stressing that Iran has always tried to restore peace and stability in this war-torn country.
He further expressed hope that the problems facing the Islamic Republic regarding the critical situation in the neighboring Afghanistan will be solved through restoration of peace.
Touching upon the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's visit to Tehran, he said his meetings with senior Iranian officials including the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, President Mohammad Khatami and Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi were very positive and helpful.
The UN secretary general, who arrived in Tehran on Friday, expressed his satisfaction with Iran's constructive and key role in the Afghan developments and thanked the Islamic Republic for aids provided to that war-stricken country, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
The Islamic Republic has pledged 560 million dollars over the next five years for Afghanistan's reconstruction, with 120 million dollars to be offered during the 2002-2003 fiscal years.
During his stay in Tehran, Annan appreciated Iran's hospitality in the two decades toward the Afghan refugees it has been hosting.
He also praised Iran's campaign against drug trafficking and said that the United Nations will cooperate with Iran to help replace poppy cultivation in Afghanistan with other crops.
Annan expressed pleasure with Iran's support to the Afghan interim government led by Hamid Karzai and said that all the neighboring countries of Afghanistan are required to help restore peace and security in the war-torn country.
Speaking about the visit of Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri to Tehran, Asefi said that settlement of the existing problems between the two countries are the axis of talks still being held between Sabri and the Iranian senior officials.
During his meeting with President Khatami, Sabri, underlined the need to resolve the last remaining disputes bogging the two Muslim and neighbor countries and to change the existing relationship into a brotherly one.
"The future is in the hands of both the Iranian and Iraqi nations and cooperation by the two countries would be to the benefit of the Islamic world," the Iraqi foreign minister said.
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