TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is the chairman of the Iran-Afghanistan Joint Economic Committee, said two commercial and industrial exhibitions are planned to be held in Afghanistan in near future, IRIB reported on Friday.

“Shortly, we will hold two exhibitions in the fields of trade, commerce, and industry, and we will also hold a joint Economic Committee meeting in Afghanistan,” Ardakanian told IRIB.

The official noted that the two countries also have it on the agenda to expand their energy cooperation, adding: “there is a great potential for expansion of trade and economic cooperation between the two sides.”

He further mentioned an agreement between the two neighbors for using the Helmand River, saying: "We are acting within the framework of the 1351 agreement between Iran and Afghanistan, in which the agreement envisages a commissariat in which both sides have members.”

"One of the duties of this commissariat is to monitor the implementation of the agreement, and fortunately, due to the good atmosphere of cooperation [between the two countries], the agreement is fully in place," Ardakanian said.

Helmand Commissariat meetings are held regularly in Tehran and Kabul, he added.

Afghanistan is one of Iran’s top five trade partners and the two neighbors have a long history for economic and political relations.

Back in 2019, during a visit to Kabul, Ardakanian had announced that Iran and Afghanistan were going to accelerate their cooperation in the electricity sector by setting up a joint taskforce.

The minister said: “The Afghan president has recommended the establishment of this task force and we are waiting for it to be set up as soon as possible”.

Iran and Afghanistan are also considering the realization of 16,000 megawatts potential of renewable energy projects in border areas.

“With good wind energy capacity in the two countries’ border regions, the two sides can use that capacity to generate nearly 16,000 megawatts of electricity,” Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri said in a meeting with Afghan Minister of Energy and Water Mohammad Gul Kholmi during his visit to Kabul in last August.

EF/MA