India to have full embassy in Kabul; medical and food aid to Afghanistan, pending infra projects to restart
Getting its toe-hold back in Afghanistan, India will once again operate a full-fledged embassy in Kabul, extend medical aid in the form of equipment and vaccinations. It will also look to restart pending infrastructure projects and have a maintenance schedule for existing completed projects like roads and hospitals.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Afghanistan’s Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and his delegation in New Delhi on Friday and rolled out the development plan and also discussed methods of countering terrorism. This even as last night two loud explosions rocked Kabul. Former US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad in a post on X expressed concern over the alleged “strikes carried out by Pakistan in Kabul” terming it as a “huge escalation", which poses dangerous risks. The ruling Taliban in Afghanistan is yet to issue a statement on the strikes.
In New Delhi, at the bilateral talks, Jaishankar told Muttaqi: “Pleased to announce the upgrading of India’s Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of Embassy of India.”
New Delhi had closed its embassy in Kabul immediately after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021. Operations resumed with a “technical team” being stationed there in 2022. In April this year, a new visa module was implemented for Afghan nationals looking to travel to India, allowing them to apply under six categories. A greater number of visas, including in medical, business and student categories, have been introduced, Jaishankar added.
Jaishankar took up the issue of both countries being endangered by the “shared threat of cross-border terrorism”. He sought to coordinate efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. “We appreciate your sensitivity towards India’s security concerns. Your solidarity with us in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack was noteworthy,” Jaishankar told Mutaqqi.
On India getting back into infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, India has offered maintenance and repairs of finished projects as well as steps to complete other projects to which New Delhi has already committed.
Before the return of the Taliban in 2021, India had invested almost $3 billion in projects across Afghanistan.
Jaishankar said India had long extended its support for the health security of Afghanistan, including that during the Covid pandemic. “We are now ready to commit to six new projects, whose details can be announced after the conclusion of our talks,” he said.
The minister also announced a gift of 20 ambulances, five of which would be handed over personally to the Afghan delegation. India will also provide MRI and CT scan machines to Afghan hospitals and deliver vaccines for immunisation and cancer medicines.
“We have also supplied drug rehabilitation materials through UNODC and are open to doing more,” Jaishankar assured Muttaqi.
India has offered to reconstruct residences in the area affected by the recent earthquake at Kunar and Nangarhar earthquake. A consignment of food grain will be delivered in Kabul today, the minister assured.
Also, India agreed to help construct residences and continue providing material aid to forcibly repatriated Afghan refugees.
India-Afghanistan will also be looking towards cooperating on water management and irrigation. “We note the interest on the Afghan side in taking this further and are ready to collaborate on the sustainable management of its water resources,” Jaishankar added. This is vital as several rivers originating in Afghanistan are tributaries of the Indus, which is Pakistan’s main river.
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