(RIA Novosti) - Afghanistan would like Russian companies to play a more proactive role in its reconstruction, the Central Asian country's foreign minister said Friday.
Speaking after a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Rangin Dadfar Spanta said Russia's involvement in reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan had been high on the agenda of his Moscow talks with Sergei Lavrov.
He also said the talks had been "productive and constructive" and that he had thanked Lavrov for Russia's contribution to creating and consolidating Afghanistan's army, reports Trend.
The Russian minister reiterated the importance of Afghanistan for Russia's foreign policy.
"The situation in and around Afghanistan is a priority area for our foreign policy," he said. "Peace and stability in the region depend in no small measure on [progress] in stabilizing the situation in the country and [transforming it into] an independent, self-sufficient state."
Lavrov said Russia provides technical support for Afghanistan's army and security forces as part of a Group of Eight effort to raise the Afghan military's efficiency in fighting the remnants of the Taliban regime.
Russia also assists the Afghan government with its efforts to eradicate drug trafficking, he said, adding that a group of Afghan officials will come to Russia in a few days for an Interior Ministry-led training course on combating drug trafficking.