Afghan Leaders, Iran’s Foreign Minister Meet in Geneva

President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah held separate talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday.

According to a statement released by Ghani’s Office, during the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan, the two sides exchanged views on economic cooperation, expansion of Kabul-Tehran relations, intra-Afghan peace negotiation and elections.

President Ghani is expected to announce a comprehensive intra-Afghan peace plan today at the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan.

He has told Zarif that the cooperation of world and regional countries including Iran is important in the Afghan peace process, the statement said.

According to the statement, the Iranian foreign minister has announced Tehran’s support from an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process, adding that Iran is ready to assist Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism and extremism by all means.

The Geneva Conference which is organized by the United Nations and the government of Afghanistan launched on Tuesday with high-ranking officials from over 60 countries as well as a large number of representatives from international bodies in attendance.