Kabul, Jan 3, IRNA -- Iran's ambassador to Kabul here on Sunday
announced his country's readiness to boost all kinds of economic and
trade cooperation with Afghanistan.
Mohammad Reza Bahrami made the remarks during a meeting with
Afghan Minister of Finance Anwar ul-Haq Ahady.
Iran kicked off its cooperation on reconstruction of Afghanistan
following the transitional government's establishment, Bahrami said.
Based on a 5-year commitment, Iran is due to donate 50 million
dollars annually to the war-torn country, the Iranian envoy said. He
added that the total donation will reach 250 million dollars by 2006.
The official said that Iran was implementing 16 development
projects in Afghanistan including the construction of Herat-Dogharoun
road, implementation of a project to provide Herat's water and
electricity and construction of a technical and vocational center in
Herat.
A total of 5 million dollars has been invested for implementation
of the aforesaid projects, Bahrami said.
He Touched upon the eagerness of Iranian businessmen for further
investments in Afghanistan, saying the establishment of the 'Ariyan
Bank' --the first Iranian bank opened on December 26 in Kabul-- would
pave the way for expanding bilateral cooperation.
The Afghan minister, for his part, praised the efforts made by
Iranian officials to reconstruct Afghanistan, saying that Iran was a
close ally of his country.
He also called on Iran to draw up a plan for providing Kabul's
electricity.
... Payvand News - 1/3/05 ... --
