The Iranian president, has arrived in Kabul for talks with his Afghan counterpart, amid allegations by US and British officials that his government is supplying Taliban fighters with weapons.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's one-day visit comes one week after Washington challenged Hamid Karzai's claim that Iran was playing a positive role in his country.

Ahmadinejad was quoted by the state-run IRNA agency as saying before he left on Tuesday that Iran and Afghanistan had always "stood next to each other as brothers and friends."

The Afghan foreign ministry said that the two leaders would sign an agreement aimed at strengthening their ties.

Conditions in the region "compel us to have dialogue and co-operation between the two countries regarding the economy, investment, construction projects and security issues," Ahmadinejad said.

As well as meeting Karzai, the Iranian president will also hold talks with Younus Qanooni, speaker of the lower house of parliament and a key opposition figure, and some Iranian nationals.

The two presidents are likely to discuss Tehran's expulsion of thousands of Afghans living in Iran illegally. Around 170,000 unregistered Afghans have been forced to leave since April, causing an outcry in Kabul that cost the minister for refugees his job.

Positive relations

Karzai has always spoken positively of relations with Shia Muslim Iran, which was a staunch opponent of the government formed by the Sunni Muslim Taliban movement between 1996 and 2001.

But Washington, which is a key ally of Karzai's government and provides the majority of troops battling Taliban fighters, is critical of Tehran's involvement in Afghanistan.

On the eve of talks with George Bush, the US president, last week, Karzai described Iran as "a helper and a solution" to problems in the country, pointing to co-operation on security issues and drug enforcement.

Bush responded several days later by saying he "would be very cautious about whether or not the Iranian influence there in Afghanistan is a  positive force".

Robert Gates, US defence secretary, said in June that given the  large number of weapons coming into Afghanistan from Iran, it was hard to believe "that it's taking place without the knowledge of the Iranian government".

The charge has been strongly denied by Tehran.

Ahmadinejad's visit is his first to Afghanistan and follows Karzai's trip to Tehran in May 2006. He will travel to Turkmenistan and Kygyzstan after the meeting.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, seen here in Tehran on 15 Jun, is due to arrive Tuesday in the Afghan capital, where he will meet with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai to discuss bilateral issues, according to officials. (AFP)

Al-Jazeera