UN official visits Iran to boost ties in Central Asia

The United Nations envoy for Afghanistan was in Tehran on Monday to discuss economic cooperation among Central Asian nations and between Iran and Afghanistan, the UN said.

The United Nations envoy for Afghanistan was in Tehran on Monday to discuss economic cooperation among Central Asian nations and between Iran and Afghanistan, the UN said.

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Kai Eide, the top UN representative in Afghanistan, addressed a high-level meeting in Tehran of the 10-nation Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which is an inter-governmental group promoting mutual economic, technical and cultural support in Central Asia.

ECO is composed of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Eide, who was scheduled to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and other senior Iranian officials, is mandated by the UN Security Council to improve regional cooperation. Iran and Afghanistan share a long border where refugees and drug trafficking had been a challenge for both sides.