Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on May 30 met in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raeisi, according to the Tajik president’s official website.

The parties reportedly discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between their countries.

The presidents then co-chaired the joint meeting of high-ranking delegations. The delegations discussed issues related to further expansion of trade and economic cooperation between Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.     

Meanwhile, Iranian media reports say that speaking at a joint conference with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raeisi, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon noted new documents were signed on Monday for bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Iran in various fields.

“We had constructive talks on enhancement of understanding between the two sides. We agreed to expand cooperation among our free trade and industrial zones. We welcome expansion of transportation through Iran's southern Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports,” he said, according to Iran’s Press TV.

The Tajik president reportedly also underscored that Dushanbe supports any efforts to maintain security in Afghanistan

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, for his part, said the Islamic Republic and Tajikistan share common views on regional issues and agree on the need for the withdrawal of foreign forces from the region as they will not ensure the establishment of security and stability there.

“Iran and Tajikistan have common views on regional issues, including the withdrawal of foreign forces,” Raeisi was cited as saying by Press TV.  

“We believe that the presence of foreigners in the region has not and will not provide security in any way,” he said.

The Iranian president noted that regional countries need to resolve their issues through dialog, adding that “the presence of foreigners in the region is not helpful.”

The Iranian president also called for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, which would represent all political groups and ethnicities there, stating that Tehran and Dushanbe attach great significance to the security of Afghanistan.

“Security, stability, and tranquility must be established for the Afghan people. The presence of terrorists in Afghanistan is very worrying, and we can accept the presence of terrorists neither in Afghanistan nor anywhere else in the region,” Raeisi said.

“We believe that foreigners and agents affiliated to the global arrogant powers are nurturing Daesh [terrorist] group in the region in pursuit of their own political goals and interests,” he stated.  “The presence of the US and NATO in Afghanistan for twenty years has yielded nothing other than war, bloodshed, and destruction. The future of Afghanistan must be decided by the people of the country itself.”

Raeisi went on to say that Tehran and Dushanbe share common views on the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism, and transnational organized crime, expressing hopes that bilateral cooperation would contribute to the establishment of security in the region.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi said the trade volume between Iran and Tajikistan has increased fourfold and that the two countries are determined to expand their political, economic, trade, and cultural relations, as well as ties in various fields of energy, tourism, mining, science, and technology.

Meanwhile, Tasnim news agency reports that in comments on Sunday, the spokesperson for Iran’s Customs Office said the bilateral trade relations between Iran and Tajikistan have begun to rise by several times following Raisi’s trip to Dushanbe.

Ruhollah Latifi reportedly said the figures show a 489% rise in the weight and a 463% rise in the value of trade exchanges between Iran and Tajikistan in the previous Iranian year compared to a year earlier.