Kabul: India on Wednesday assured all possible help to the Afghan people to realise their vision of a strong, independent and prosperous Afghanistan as the two countries agreed to intensify cooperation in areas like security, defence and reconstruction work in the war-torn country. India’s assurance was conveyed by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai and held a wide-ranging talks on political and security situation, ahead of the NATO drawdown later this year.
Ms Swaraj also inaugurated a new $40 million Indian Embassy building in the heart of Afghan Kabul, featuring an integrated security system.
In the first formal diplomatic interaction between the two countries after Narendra Modi took charge as prime minister this May, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in the Afghan capital on Wednesday to inaugurate India’s new and security enhanced US $40m embassy in the heart of Kabul, while underscoring the need to work closely with Afghanistan on stability and security amid a proposed Nato drawdown of forces.
Swaraj’s assurances during talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai marks the ascent of a possible new hard line on Indian support to Afghanistan. While India has trained Afghan officers, and invested $2 billion in aid and reconstruction, it has dragged its feet on supplying weapons and military hardware, citing concerns over a blowback from armed groups operating in Afghanistan at the behest of neighboring Pakistan.
