India has declared a major enhancement of diplomatic and economic relations with Afghanistan's Taliban government by announcing the reopening of its Kabul embassy and reconfirming its commitment to development cooperation through the revival of existing projects and exploration of new initiatives.

“India is fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan. Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilience. To enhance that, I am pleased to announce today the upgrading of India’s Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of Embassy of India,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in his talks with Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Also Read: Akasa Air's Co-Founder Neelu Khatri Steps Down

Muttaqi reached Delhi following his visit to Russia, having obtained temporary relief from UN sanctions that permitted his travel.

“Your visit marks an important step in advancing India-Afghanistan ties. As a well-wisher of the Afghan people, India has a deep interest in your development. Today, I reaffirm that our long-standing partnership, which has supported numerous Indian projects in Afghanistan, continues to stand strong, ” Jaishankar said addressing Muttaqi.

Also Read: Need for Emotional Intelligence in 2024

This marks the first occasion that a Taliban foreign minister has traveled to India since the group regained control of Kabul in August 2021, deposing the Islamic Republic. To date, Russia remains the sole nation to have officially recognized Afghanistan's Taliban administration.

The Minister emphasized that both India and Afghanistan share common objectives in enhancing trade and commercial relations and expressed gratitude for the introduction of additional flight services connecting Kabul and New Delhi. He revealed that India plans to create more opportunities for Afghan students to attend Indian educational institutions and will continue supporting Afghan cricket.

Highlighting the situation of Afghan refugees who have been forcibly returned, Jaishankar expressed India's serious concerns regarding this matter.

 

As a neighbour and well-wisher of the Afghan people, India has a deep interest in the country’s development and progress, the Minister said. “Today, I reaffirm that our longstanding partnership that has seen so many Indian projects in Afghanistan, stands renewed. We can discuss the maintenance and repairs of finished projects as well as steps to complete others to which we have already committed. Beyond that, other development priorities of Afghanistan can be discussed by our teams,” he said.

The Minister stressed that India had long extended support for the health security of Afghanistan, including 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.

Also Read: Leadership Courses in Top Universities to Herald AI Era

Jaishankar announced that India would donate 20 ambulances to the nation as a goodwill gesture, with five of these vehicles to be personally presented by him to the Afghan Minister in a symbolic ceremony.