Afghan FM underlines Iran's role in Bonn conference

Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul renewed his country's invitation to Tehran to attend an upcoming international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn in December, saying that Iran's participation in the meeting will produce "constructive and effective" results."The presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the conference will be fundamental, constructive and effective," Rassoul said in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Thursday. He called for Iran's active participation in the conference, and stressed that the Afghan delegation will manage the meeting. Expansion of regional cooperation will form the pivot of the conference, Rassoul added. On December 5, Germany will host an international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn at the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Michael Steiner, Germany's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, had earlier invited Iran to the Bonn conference in a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific and Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs Mohammad Ali Fathollahi earlier this month. The aim of the confab is to give impetus to political process concerning Afghanistan and cement the international community's long-term commitment beyond 2014. Preparations for the conference will be made by the International Contact Group on Afghanistan in close coordination with the Afghan government.