The Iranian economic delegation’s visit to Herat and Farah was aimed at learning about the latest commercial and industrial capacities of the region

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Tehran: Ismail Baghaei, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, answered a question about the country’s delegation’s visit to Herat and Farah provinces in his weekly meeting with reporters today, Monday, April 14.
He said: This was an economic visit and the governor of South Khorasan and senior officials of the Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, headed by the deputy economic diplomacy officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country, were present.
Baghaei added: During this visit, opportunities for cooperation in commercial and industrial matters between the two countries were examined and the Herat Industrial City was visited.
He emphasized: The purpose of this trip was to learn about the latest status of industrial and commercial capacities in this region and to explore ways to expand relations between the two countries.

This is while a high-ranking delegation of political and economic officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran traveled to Herat and Farah provinces late last week to explore the expansion of trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.

The delegation included Seyyed Abdullah Arjaei, Deputy Minister of Planning and Resources at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Seyyed Rasoul Mohajer, Deputy Minister of Economic Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alireza Bekdali, Acting Head of the Iranian Embassy in Kabul, and Mr. Hashemi, Governor of South Khorasan.
In Herat, the delegation visited the Herat Industrial City, the Khaf-Herat Railway Line, and the Roznak Station, and met and discussed with the Governor of Herat. During the meeting of the delegation with government officials and the private sector of Afghanistan, the economic capabilities of Herat and the ways to expand economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries were discussed.

After Herat, the delegation traveled to Farah province in order to develop bilateral cooperation and facilitate the transfer of goods between Iran and Afghanistan, and visited the Farah-Mahirud highway project, which is funded by the Iranian Ministry of Roads.
During the visit of the economic delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the road construction operations on the Farah-Mahirud axis, it was announced that this project is being implemented with the aim of facilitating border communications and increasing the capacity of the East-West corridor in the region. The completion of this project will be carried out in 1404 and will have significant effects on trade and transit relations between Afghanistan and Iran.
In a joint meeting between the governor of South Khorasan and the governor of Farah, the development of border, economic and medical cooperation between the two neighboring provinces was also emphasized.
The delegation’s visit took place while the amount of trade relations between the two countries increased by 84 percent last year compared to the previous year, reaching more than $3.3 billion.
This visit comes at a time when the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, in response to a question last week about the governor of South Khorasan's emphasis on establishing an Afghan consulate in the city of Birjand, the provincial capital, as well as establishing an Iranian consulate in the city of Farah, announced that there are no plans in this regard.