Iranian President, Mohammad Khatami is due to pay a one-day official visit to Kabul on August 13, invited by his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, Khatami's office has announced.
Khatami will be accompanied by a high-level political, economic and cultural delegation.
His visit had originally been expected to take place before the convening of the Afghan Loya Jirga, or traditional grand assembly, which was held in June to elect a new 18-month transitional government, AFP said.
Iran was a key ally of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in their battle against the hard-line regime, and was quick to establish close relations with Karzai's administration.
Karzai has already visited the Islamic republic of Iran, which, despite the warm ties, remains concerned over the US military presence in its eastern neighbor. Iran shares a 900 kilometer border with Afghanistan and hosts some two million Afghan refugees.
During a donors' conference in Tokyo back in January, Tehran promised 560 million dollars in aid for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
