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Iran leader begins Afghan visit | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in Afghanistan on the first leg of a regional tour. | |
Mr Ahmadinejad is meeting his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai in Kabul. | |
Tehran helped to establish an interim government in Kabul after the fall of the Taleban and since then has donated large amounts of aid to Afghanistan. | Tehran helped to establish an interim government in Kabul after the fall of the Taleban and since then has donated large amounts of aid to Afghanistan. |
This is Mr Ahmadinejad's first visit to Afghanistan since he was elected. Both Tehran and Kabul say they will use the trip to broaden existing ties. | |
Issues of mutual interest include continuing reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Kabul's ongoing fight against Taleban insurgents, says the BBC's Pam O'Toole in Tehran. | |
The continuing presence of almost a million Afghan refugees in Iran and Tehran's current operation to expel other groups of Afghans who are living in Iran illegally are also important issues. | The continuing presence of almost a million Afghan refugees in Iran and Tehran's current operation to expel other groups of Afghans who are living in Iran illegally are also important issues. |
Kabul's main ally, the United States, recently alleged that Iranian-made weapons had been finding their way into the hands of the Taleban, but that has been strongly denied by Tehran. | |
And during his recent visit to the US, the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, said Iran had been playing a positive role in his country. | |
From Afghanistan Mr Ahmadinejad will travel on to Turkmenistan, where he is expected to sign a number of co-operation agreements. | |
Iran is the largest consumer of Turkmen gas after Russia and the two countries have close economic ties. | Iran is the largest consumer of Turkmen gas after Russia and the two countries have close economic ties. |
Mr Ahmadinejad's final port of call will be a meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in Kyrgyzstan, where he is expected to bid for Iran's status to be raised from observer to full member. | |
While there he is due to hold talks with leaders of full members of the organisation, who include Russia and China. | While there he is due to hold talks with leaders of full members of the organisation, who include Russia and China. |