Spokesman: Kabul Eager to Expand Scientific Ties with Tehran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Spokesman of Afghanistan's Higher Education Ministry Abdulazim Nourbakhsh underlined that Kabul is willing to develop all-out relations with Iran, specially in scientific and academic fields.
"Devising plans for interaction with different countries, specially with Iran, is one of the fundamental strategies pursued by Kabul since this strategy enables us to build libraries and grant scholarships to students," Nourbakhsh said on Monday, visiting Ferdowsi University in Northeastern Iran.

Noting that Iran and Afghanistan enjoy cultural commonalities, he said that the Afghan government attaches much importance to scientific and academic interactions and relations with Iran.

Earlier reports this month said that Iran and Afghanistan plan to sign a 20-clause Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop mutual cooperation in educational fields.

Iranian Minister of Education Hamid Reza Haji Babaee announced the news at a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Faruq Wardak here in Tehran Sunday, adding that Iran and Afghanistan are currently cooperating in writing and publishing educational books, education of Afghan teachers in Iran and construction of schools and educational centers in the war-torn Afghanistan.

Iran is one of the most important donors to Afghanistan which has kept its promises and helped to the reconstruction of the war-hit country.

Iran has built several roads, power transmission lines, and border stations, among other infrastructural projects.

Also Iran hosts over one million illegal Afghan refugees, while the Islamic Republic has received little international support.