On Thursday, July 16, 2020, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) held a conversation titled "Perspectives on Afghanistan-Iran Relations: Challenges, Opportunities". The event was accompanied by Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Jawed Ludin, Former Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Mr. Javed Ludin first addressed the perspective of Afghanistan-Iran relations, saying that Iran and Afghanistan are not only neighbors, but also two countries that share the same language, cultural roots and beliefs, and that these commonalities form a highly strong foundation for the two counties` relations. He said there are several issues in Afghanistan-Iran multidimensional relationship, including refugees, border security, economy and regional co-operation. Mr. Ludin said that Iran and Afghanistan share common threats in terms of security, which addressing it requires their cooperation. He expressed hope that the consensus and cooperation that existed in the region in the past years, now will become more focused on Afghan peace process and play a more constructive, prominent role.
Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated that security in the region is an integrated concept and it can be said, without exaggeration, that peace and stability in Afghanistan guarantees peace and stability in Iran. In his speech, he referred to the "Comprehensive Document of Strategic Cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan" and gave a full explanation that the document has been set up in five committees. He described these committees as: 1) Economic Committee 2) Cultural Committee 3) Defense and Security Committee 4) Citizens Committee and 5) Water Committee.
Dr. Araghchi added that Iran's goal in this comprehensive document is to find a ground for cooperation with Afghanistan in all these areas. He also addressed the principles set out in the document, saying "non-interference in each other's affairs", "non-aggression" and "non-use of each other's territory to attack and invade other countries" are the most fundamental principles of the document.