SAMARKAND (Dispatches) -- Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has called for closer interaction with Iran on issues relating to Afghanistan.
In a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi here Friday, Modi said his country and Iran share views on Afghanistan. He also expressed India’s opposition to unilateral sanctions on other countries.
Modi highlighted the significant role of Iran’s southeastern port of Chabahar in regional transportation, saying the development of the port will contribute to the economic progress of the regional states.
For his part, Raisi said one of Iran’s top foreign policy priorities is to expand its relations with India.
Hailing the friendly and cordial ties between Iran and India, Raisi said the two countries can promote cooperation in various fields, employ capacities available in the oil and gas industries, and work in the transportation sector, especially in the Chabahar-Central Asia transit route.
Pointing to Iran’s advances in science and industry, Raisi said the cruel sanctions have failed to obstruct the Iranian nation’s progress.
Meanwhile, the presidents of Iran and Turkey talked about the latest developments in the Caucasus, Syria and Afghanistan.
“The principle of our policy in the region is that the fate of the countries should be decided by themselves and their national sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected,” he told President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Raisi stressed that Iran is a friend of its neighboring countries.
The president reaffirmed Iran’s welcoming of the liberation of Karabakh and its preparation for the reconstruction of that region. He said any change in the international, historical and geopolitical borders in the region is unacceptable to Iran.
The two presidents talked about agreements signed during Erdogan’s July visit to Tehran, with the Turkish leader calling for their implementation.
Separately, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for the rapid completion of a corridor linking his country to Iran via Turkmenistan.
In a meeting with Iranian President Raisi, the Kazakh president highlighted the achievements of his recent visit to Iran.
He stressed the need to accelerate

the implementation of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran corridor and balance customs and transportation tariffs among the three countries.
Facilities have been created for the travel of Iranian business people to Kazakhstan, Tokayev stated, adding efforts should be made to increase the existing logistics and transportation capacities.
The Kazakh leader also invited Raisi to visit this country and attend the upcoming Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building (CICA) meeting.
Raisi said Iran is determined to implement agreements made by the two countries during the Kazakh president’s visit to Tehran.
The Iranian president also held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and discussed the formation of a committee to pursue implementation of joint projects.
In separate talks with his counterpart Sadyr Japarov, President Raisi voiced Iran’s readiness to share its technical and scientific experiences with Kyrgyzstan.
He also stressed the need for efforts to increase economic relations between Tehran and Bishkek. Iran and Kyrgyzstan can promote regional cooperation in partnership with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, he Raisi added.
For his part, Japarov said the expansion of relations with Iran is one of the top priorities of his country.