Iran's interior minister and Afghanistan's minister of counter-narcotics have signed an agreement to increase mutual cooperation on drug fighting, PressTV reported.
"In this agreement, the continuation of cooperation on fighting terrorism, organized movements and strengthening border control was also discussed," Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said in his meeting with Afghanistan's Zarar Ahmad Muqbel on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately the Islamic Republic of Iran must pay for preventing the transition of drugs to other countries in addition to the cost of preventing the transit and use of narcotics in our own country," ISNA quoted Mohammad-Najjar as saying.
Referring to 3,700 Iranians who have lost their lives in fighting drugs, Mohammad-Najjar said the international community is aware of the costs Iran has paid in this way in terms of financial resources and human lives.
The Iranian interior minister said considering that Afghanistan, as Iran's neighbor, is a major drug hub, Tehran should increase cooperation with Kabul to stop the production and trafficking of narcotics.
Afghanistan continues to account for 90 percent of the world's illicit opium and heroin production, the UN drugs monitoring body said in its 2010 report.
The poppy production and drug business in Afghanistan has come at a heavy cost for Iran.
With a 900-kilometer (560-mile) common border with Afghanistan, Iran has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to drug dealers in Europe.
Ahmad Muqbel said narcotics are international phenomena, adding that although opium is produced in Afghanistan, the material used for changing opium to heroin and other drugs are imported from other countries.
He stressed that opium found its way into Afghanistan through war, and the country has made a lot of efforts to reduce its production.
According to UN statistics, Afghanistan produced only 185 tons of opium per year under the Taliban. Since the US-led invasion, drug production has surged to 3,400 tons annually.
The UN office said late last year that the 2009 potential gross export value of opium from Afghanistan stood at USD 2.8 billion.
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