Support for peace, stability in Afghanistan to continue

Gholamali Khoshroo made the remarks in a UN Security meeting on Afghanistan on Thursday March 8 to extend the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year.

In the UNSC meeting, Iran’s representative said “security remained the major challenge for Afghanistan. The Government was in the forefront of fighting terrorism, in particular the Taliban, Al‑Qaida, ISIL and its affiliates, as well as other terrorist and extremist groups and criminals.”

Khoshroo added “sustained international support is needed to help the Government in that fight, as well as in addressing its complex security, economic and political challenges.”

Referring to the huge number of Afghans living in Iran, Iran’s representative noted that for more than three decades, Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees, and has shared much needed subsidized goods and services with them, including basic commodities, public health and public education.

Khoshroo went on to add "in 2018 alone, Iran's schools provided education to nearly 400,000 undocumented Afghan students," declaring further efforts to strengthen regional economic cooperation, including measures to facilitate regional connectivity, trade and transit.