India, Iran and Afghanistan held the first round of trilateral consultations on Afghanistan here on Wednesday, a senior government official said on Thursday.
"The first round of director general/joint secretary-level India-Iran-Afghanistan trilateral consultations on Afghanistan was held in New Delhi on April 27," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here.
"During the consultations, the Afghan delegation gave a briefing on the status of efforts on peace and reconciliation following which the three delegations discussed various dimensions of the current situation," he said.
According to Swarup, both the Indian and Iranian delegations extended support to the efforts of the Afghan government for peace, stability and prosperity in that country and "to preserve the gains of the past 15 years".
"The delegations also had a fruitful exchange of views on mutual cooperation and strengthening economic and commercial cooperation among the three countries, including by promoting regional connectivity such as through Chabahar port (in Iran)," he said.
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"In this regard they also agreed to explore avenues for attracting investments from other countries in the region and beyond."
The spokesperson also said that the Iranian delegation has offered to host the next round of consultations in Tehran.
Both India and Afghanistan are participating in the development of the Chabahar port in Iran as a regional connectivity hub.
India and Iran are also working to make Afghanistan a vital link between central and south Asia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a bilateral visit to Iran in the first half of this year.
--IANS
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