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Second round of regional meeting on Afghanistan held in Tehran
The second meeting of the Regional Contact Group for Afghanistan, known as the Moscow Format, was held on Saturday in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
Iranian media reported that the representatives of Iran, Russia, China and Pakistan attended the meeting.
At the meeting, the Director-General of the South Asia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Seyyed Rasoul Mousavi said that the countries of the region play a constructive role in ensuring the peace, stability, and development of Afghanistan.
Mousavi added that in regional meetings, in addition to recalling the problems, solutions and ways to get out of these issues should also be considered.
Despite the invitation, the Islamic Emirate did not participate in the meeting.
Zakir Jalaly, Director of the Third Political Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, said that the IEA declined the invitation to a regional meeting.
Jalaly said in a post on X that the Afghan government declined the invitation to the meeting. He said that the Afghan government expects that meetings on Afghanistan should be held through the existing mechanisms, not new ones.
Meanwhile, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press conference in Islamabad that the second meeting of the contact group hosted by Iran is important to ensure peace, security and stability in the region.
Zahra Baloch added that Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Asif Ali Khan Durrani participated in this meeting.
“Pakistan believes that the role of the regional contact group is very important for Afghanistan and provides an opportunity to strengthen regional cooperation. Consultations at the regional contact group level ensure that Afghanistan does not become a center for terrorist activities, and at the same time, the neighboring countries support Afghanistan’s efforts for the welfare and economic improvement of their people,” she said.
Earlier, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said that the agenda of the third Doha meeting will also be discussed at the meeting of the contact group in Tehran.
The Moscow Format meeting is being held in Tehran while the representatives of twenty-five countries and some envoys of international organizations and institutions are scheduled to meet in Doha on June 30 and July 1 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Tajik authorities say their border guards clashed with militants who crossed into Tajikistan’s Khatlon region from Afghanistan on Tuesday night.
Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that militants intended to carry out an armed attack on one of the border outposts.
Three militants were killed and two Tajik soldiers died in the clash. From the scene, three firearms—an M-16 rifle and a Kalashnikov assault rifle—three foreign-made pistols equipped with suppressors, ten hand grenades, one night-vision device, explosives, and other military equipment were seized, according to the committee.
This was the third reported attack from Afghanistan into Tajikistan in the past month, with the previous ones targeting Chinese nationals.
The Islamic Emirate previously said it assured Tajikistan it was ready to tighten border security and conduct joint investigations.
Business
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can factory launched in Herat with $120 million investment
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can manufacturing plant was officially launched on Thursday in Herat province, marking a significant step toward industrial development and economic self-reliance.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
According to officials, the Pamir factory is the first of its kind in Afghanistan and is being established with an investment of $120 million. The project will be built on 16 jeribs of land within Herat’s industrial zones.
Once completed, the factory is expected to create employment opportunities for around 1,700 Afghan citizens. Officials say the project will play a key role in boosting domestic production, reducing reliance on imports, and strengthening the national economy.
Authorities described the launch of the project as a clear sign of growing investment in the industrial sector and ongoing efforts to promote economic self-sufficiency in the country.
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Medvedev: IEA posed less threat to Russia than western-backed groups
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) caused less harm to Russia than Western-backed civic organisations that, he claims, sought to undermine the country’s unity.
In an article published in the Russian journal Rodina, Medvedev wrote that while the IEA had long been designated as a terrorist organisation, its actions did not inflict the same level of damage on Russia as what he described as Western-supported institutions operating under the banner of academic or humanitarian work.
“Let us be honest: the Taliban (IEA) movement, long listed as a terrorist organisation, has caused modern Russia far less damage than all those pseudo-scientific institutions whose aim is to dismantle our country under the guise of aiding the oppressed,” Medvedev stated.
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Medvedev’s remarks come amid a shift in Russia’s official stance toward Afghanistan. In April, Russia’s Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which had previously been included on the country’s list of terrorist organisations.
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