The trilateral meeting of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan concluded its work in Tehran on Sunday by issuing a 25-article statement. In the statement covering important issues within the framework of trilateral cooperation, the three countries’ presidents stressed that they would use each other’s experiences for development and progress.The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in a meeting with Afghan and Pakistani presidents after the end of the trilateral meeting voiced strong support for such trilateral agreements and pointed to the continuation of such meetings. He underlined that cooperation is not limited to security and political issues, but it is a good ground for expanding economic and constructive cooperation between the three countries.
Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have religious, cultural, and historical commonalities as well as common enemies. Experts believe that extremism, terrorism and the destructive phenomenon of narcotic drugs and lack of conducive grounds for using economic capacities are among the problems which have overshadowed the advancement and development of regional cooperation, and the elimination of these problems depends on the serious will and efforts of regional countries. In fact, as the Supreme Leader underlined, extremism has created many problems for the regional nations and governments and it is also threatening others, particularly those who were the main cause of creating such extremism with their money and policies. It is obvious that in this framework, the United States as the main element creating these problems is strongly hated among the regional people. It is clear that security is an essential condition for development and progress. From this viewpoint, the trilateral cooperation between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan in terms of security would also have an impact on boosting various economic, cultural and inter-provincial cooperation, especially when the three countries have common viewpoints about various international and regional issues.
At present, Pakistan’s efforts to counter insecurity and the will of Afghanistan to seriously tackle the problem of drug production are among significant moves that should be continued and require regional and international support.
Finalizing the contract for exporting Iran’s gas to Pakistan and the signing of a memorandum of understanding in this regard is also another step forward for regional cooperation.
As the Iranian President, Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pointed out, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan can reach common goals by relying on their commonalities in the area of civilization and culture and organizing a deep-rooted and sustainable cooperation.