Ministers from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan have met in Kabul to discuss cooperation in fighting opium smuggling and production across the region.

Monday's meeting of anti-narcotic officials was the second day of the talks organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Yuri Fedotov, who heads the agency, told the Associated Press that opium production in Afghanistan is on the rise despite decades of initiatives by the government and the international community. Fedotov separately told Reuters news agency that the U.N. will have to take a larger role in combating the problem, once foreign combat troops leave the country in 2014.

About 90 percent of the world's opium is produced in Afghanistan, mostly in the country's volatile southern provinces. Money from the drug trade supports the country's insurgency.

A large portion of the drugs are smuggled out of Afghanistan through eastern Iran and Pakistan, which both border the country.

During Monday's meeting in the Afghan capital, all three nations reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering joint operations aimed at targeting smuggling networks.