Speaking to reporters in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku on Friday, Mohammad Javad Zarif said he has attended the Heart of Asia Conference as part of joint efforts to help ensure security and economic development in Afghanistan.
Iran maintains that any initiative for peace, stability and progress in Afghanistan and the battle against terrorism and narcotics in the country should be overseen by the Kabul government, he added.
Warning against the growing threat of the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group in Afghanistan, Zarif expressed the hope that close international cooperation would help the Afghan government go through the current critical stage.
Foreign Minister Zarif has joined top foreign officials in Baku for the Heart of Asia Conference, which includes 14 participating and 17 supporting countries, as well as 12 international and regional organizations, such as the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Founded in 2011, Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process provides an agenda for regional cooperation in the ‘heart of Asia’ by placing Afghanistan at its center and engaging the regional countries in sincere cooperation for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, as well as a secure and prosperous region as a whole, according to its official website.