Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The normalization of life in Afghanistan after the planned withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from the country is in the spotlight of the world community.

There is staunch rivalry among the countries which are trying to gain influence over Afghanistan after the withdrawal of troops.

As the United States prepares for its own withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is reportedly worried about Iran gaining a strategic advantage in Afghanistan, after seeing Tehran gain clout in Iraq following the 2003 U.S. invasion.

However, the director of the Afghan Institute of Strategic Studies Daud Moradian said recently that two uncompromising opponents in the world political scene - Iran and the U.S. - have started to cooperate in the field of rehabilitation of Afghanistan's infrastructure, Fars news agency reported.

According to Moradian, recently, the tripartite Afghanistan-Iran-U.S. meeting on the sidelines of the meeting on security issues was held in the western Afghan province of Herat.

Issues on interaction between the three countries in areas such as the development of Afghanistan's economy, including the construction of railways and the efficient use of water resources as well as the fight against drug trafficking, were raised at the meeting.

U.S. and Iranian officials have declared the readiness of their countries to invest in relevant projects.

Moradian said the U.S. has launched a number of initiatives that have been approved by the other interlocutors of the informal meeting.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani highlighted recently Tehran's role in helping to restore the security and stability in Afghanistan. He said Iran will do its utmost for the establishment of stability in Afghanistan.

According to Fars, Iran for many years has been a donor to neighboring Afghanistan. Tehran, in particular, has sponsored the construction of roads in Afghanistan along with transmission lines and border checkpoints.

Each year, Iran allocates $50 million to the Afghan government for the fight against drugs.

Iran lies on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states, and shares about 900 kilometers of a common border with Afghanistan, through which about 74 percent of opium is reportedly smuggled.

Iran's location has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who seek to smuggle their cargo from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe.

The U.S.-led NATO forces intervened to Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington's war on terror. The allied forces removed the Taliban from power, but the country is still grappling with mounting insecurity.

Iran, an immediate neighbor of Afghanistan, has called for a regional solution to the Afghan crisis and blamed the growing insecurity and drug trafficking in Afghanistan on the foreign military presence in the country.