India renews support for democratic, peaceful Afghanistan

KABUL in their efforts to build a united, sovereign, democratic, peaceful, stable, prosperous and inclusive nation.

Addressing the India-Central Asia Dialogue in Samarkand, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India and Central Asian countries had sustained and enriching contacts with Afghanistan over centuries

A statement from the foreign ministry in New Delhi quoted her as saying that India supported efforts for peace and reconciliation, which were inclusive, Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

Swaraj stressed the need for preserving gains of the last 18 years. The violence and terror imposed on Afghan people should end, she said, It should strengthen unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

The minister said her country extended development assistance to Afghanistan of over $ 3 billion, focused on reconstruction, infrastructure development, capacity building, human resource development and connectivity.

Under the ‘New Development Partnership’ launched in September 2017, new projects are being taken up:

1. Shahtoot dam, a drinking water project for Kabul;
2. Low-cost housing in Nangarhar province;
3. 116 high-impact community development projects;
4. A host of other infrastructure development projects.

Over 3,500 Afghan nationals are trained and received education in India every year.

“You would all agree that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, which lies at the Heart of Asia, can be a bridge to connect Central Asia with South Asia,” she said, underlining the geographical importance of Afghanistan.

Both nations desire to contribute to:

(i) The common developmental goals of the region;

(ii) Bring progress and prosperity to their peoples;

(iii) Share the benefits, that may accrue, will be furthered if there is a greater connectivity in the region.

While geographically Afghanistan and Central Asia are landlocked, there are several ways in which India, Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries could join hands to work on promoting connectivity in the region, she said.

“In this context, I would like to mention that the joint efforts of India, Iran and Afghanistan have led to the development of the Chabahar Port in Iran as a viable and operational trade route to connect to Afghanistan and potentially to Central Asia. Chabahar provides a shining example of what strong partnership can achieve to overcome any obstacles,” she added.

“We have already sent a very substantial quantity of wheat to Afghanistan using the Chabahar port. Last month, the Indian company opened its office and took over operations at the ShaheedBehesti port at Chabahar,” Swaraj recalled.

India was looking at developing the Chabahar-Zahedan railway link which would bring us close to the Zaranj-Delaram road link which India has already built in Afghanistan, she said.

She announced Iran would be holding the Chabahar Day International Conference on February 26 at the port to introduce to the invited delegations the capacity of the facility.

“I would urge that apart from official delegations, countries should encourage participation of representatives of shipping companies, freight forwarders, port development organizations and other stakeholders to make it a grand success.

Last year, India was admitted to the ‘Ashgabat Agreement’ aimed at establishment of an International Transport and Transit Corridor between Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

nh/mud