Afghan and Iranian Officials Meet in Kabul to Expand Tourism Cooperation

The Afghan Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, Maulvi Qudratullah Jamal, held talks with the Iranian Ambassador Alireza Bikdeli and the Cultural Attaché Seyed Ruhullah Hosseini in Kabul. The purpose of the meeting was to explore opportunities for greater cooperation in the tourism sector between Afghanistan and Iran.

Several areas were identified for potential collaboration. These include the facilitation of travel for various purposes such as pilgrimage, medical treatment, and education. The development of joint cultural programs was also discussed, as was the need to increase the overall movement of tourists between the two nations.

Maulvi Qudratullah Jamal observed that Afghanistan and Iran enjoy friendly relations. In light of this, he requested assistance from Iran in the form of training seminars. These seminars would be prepared for instructors at the Tourism and Hotel Management Institute.

For his part, Ambassador Alireza Bikdeli stressed the religious, cultural, and civilizational commonalities between Afghanistan and Iran. He conveyed Iran's readiness to work on developing tourism and pilgrimage facilities. Additionally, he expressed a willingness to share experiences in these areas.

The two sides agreed on the importance of developing tourism and cultural cooperation. They decided to prepare a joint memorandum of understanding to guide future efforts. Strengthening coordination between relevant institutions was identified as a key step forward.