Afghanistan`s President Hamed Karzai in a meeting with Iran`s Foreign Minister in Kabul said that the assistance rendered by Iran has helped Afghanistan to find its rightful place. The Afghan government and nation are thankful for this help, he added. In a meeting with visiting Iranian foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, the Afghan president referred to the relation between Afghanistan and its neighbors. ”Afghanistan wishes further progress and development of Iran and will not let anyone drive a wedge between the two Moslem neighbors,” Karzai added. He also referred to the many shortcomings in his country due to past three decades of conflict. ”We should draw assistance from Iran`s experiences to boost the development drive in Afghanistan.” He accepted an invitation from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a visit to Tehran. Meanwhile, Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said Monday that Iran has always supported the Afghan people during their years of jihad, resistance and construction. Abdullah`s remarks were made at a joint press conference with the visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki after the two held a meeting. He said the visit by Mottaki and his accompanying delegation to his country opened a very bright horizon for further consolidating bilateral relations between the two friends and neighboring states. The Islamic Republic has always had an active presence in Afghanistan`s political arena, particularly during the past four years, and has had a close cooperation with Kabul government in the interest of maintaining regional security and stability. He pointed to Iran`s role in Afghanistan`s reconstruction, and expressed the gratitude of the Afghan nation, government and President Karzai to the Iranian government, officials and Muslim nation for their support and assitance in the building of a new Afghanistan. Abdullah, moreover, said that Iran and Afghanistan signed an agreement on consular affairs on Monday which would further improve the ties of their nationals. He said Tehran and Kabul recently inked an agreement in Tehran that calls for the setting up of a special commission to review border security and that the two sides are currently working on other agreements, particularly on trade and investment. The Afghan minister said the agreements are to be signed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, during the latter`s visit next month to Tehran. Mottaki, on his turn said Tehran has put expansion of relations with its neighbors on its list of foreign policy priorities. He also expressed satisfaction over the process of institutionalization of democracy underway in Afghanistan. The two nations` officials are resolved to strengthen ties in all fields and ”we believe that the capacities should be raised in all levels.” Expansion of mutual trade, joint investments legalization of border controls and expansion of judicial, legal and parliamentary relations are all among the factors upon which the two nations could forge closer ties, he said. In the aftermath of the fall of the Taliban, Afghan ethnic groups signed a UN-sponsored deal in Bonn, Germany in December 1998 that paved the way for the establishment of the interim government headed by ethnic Pashtun tribal leader Hamid Karzai. Election of an interim president for the provisional Afghan government, formation of the Loya Jirga (grand assembly) and election of members of the lower house of parliament and councils were the main features of the Bonn Agreement. Rival factions in the Loya Jirga agreed later on a constitution, which paved the way for the first free elections held in the country after over two decades of war. Karzai won the presidential election held in Nov 2004 by a landslide and was sworn in for a five-year term. The election of a lower house of parliament and councils in each of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan last September was the last step toward establishing a stable and democratic government for the country under the Bonn Agreement.