Mashhad, July 31, IRNA – Afghanistan's Customs chief Ahmad Rashad Popal said on Wednesday that Afghanistan is keen on development of Iran's Chabahar Port.

In a meeting with the governor general of Iran's Razavi Khorasan province, Ahmad Rashad Popal said that in his recent visit to Iran's southeastern Province of Sistan and Baluchestan, he has been stunned by the development of the infrastructures in Chabahar.

He expressed hope that the infrastructure would benefit Afghanistan traders.

Given the significant number of Afghan investors in Iran, he called for more measures to ease the procedure of issuing visa and residence permits for them in Chabahar and other free economic zones in Iran.

The Afghan official also said that he had signed a protocol on cooperation of customs offices.

He also suggested that Iran and Afghanistan can cooperate on reduction of tariffs on transit of goods, adding that he had discussed the issue with officials at the Afghan Ministry of Transport.

Governor General of Razavi Khorasan, Alireza Razm-Hosseini, said that some 3.5 million Afghan people are in Iran and the province is facing some 1,500 illegal Afghan immigrants.

Illicit drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Iran is another challenge that has claimed the lives of thousands of Iranian policemen and border guards, he said, calling on Afghan Government to take appropriate measures.

"Lack of control over Afghan borders has caused insecurity due to the phenomenon of illicit drug trafficking on border areas," he added. 

Iran shares 950 km border with Afghanistan.

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