Gen. Wardak on 3-day visit to India

NEW DELHI (PAN) Afghan Minister of Defence Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak is paying a three-day visit to India, beginning on Wednesday. He is accompanied by a high-level Afghan government delegation.

Wardak will hold talks with Indian Defence Minister AK Antony and other senior officials of the ministry and armed forces. Bilateral cooperation issues, including capacity building of Afghan security forces, are likely to be discussed.

The defence ministry in New Delhi said the trip marked another step in the steady progress in bilateral relations, as it came soon after Prime Minister   Manmohan Singh’s visit to Afghanistan earlier last month.

There have been periodic exchanges between the armed forces of the two countries since Wardak last visited India in April 2008. Afghan Chief of General Staff Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi visited India in October last year.

The visit of Afghan Defence Minister to India marks another step in the steady progress in bilateral relations, particularly as his visit comes soon after the Prime Minister   Manmohan Singh’s visit to Afghanistan earlier this month.

A day earlier, India and Germany said they desired to see an independent Afghanistan handling its security on its own. The remark was made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a joint press conference.

India and Afghanistan recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Official Statistics to promote technical cooperation between the two nations.

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