KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, has said that his country aims to strengthen its ties with Afghanistan, focusing on humanitarian and development cooperation.
The Indian news outlet Hindustan Times reported that during a press conference on Friday, Jaiswal expressed India’s commitment to maintaining its “longstanding relationship” with the people of Afghanistan.
The Indian official announced India’s readiness to expand trade, enhance the health sector, and support sports in Afghanistan.
According to the report, Jaiswal also pointed to the recent meeting between India’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Vikram Misri, and Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, calling it the “highest level of engagement” between the two countries.
The meeting, held earlier this month in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, marked the first significant public engagement between the Taliban and New Delhi since the group’s return to power in Afghanistan.
According to the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussions during the meeting centered on security, India’s potential role in development projects, and its provision of humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.
“In line with Afghanistan’s balanced and economy-focused foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate aims to strengthen political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner,” the ministry stated.
The talks also reportedly covered expanding trade and utilizing Iran’s Chabahar port, a project India has been developing to bypass Pakistan’s Karachi and Gwadar ports.
This development comes amid rising tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan in recent months, particularly over cross-border terrorism and recent Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which is responsible for the deaths of dozens of Pakistani security forces and civilians. Pakistan defended its recent airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, claiming the strikes targeted and killed TTP members. However, both the Taliban and India condemned the airstrikes.
India was one of the largest providers of development aid to Afghanistan during the past two decades of Western involvement, investing over $3 billion in projects such as schools, roads, dams, hospitals, and the construction of Afghanistan’s new parliament in Kabul.
Following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, India, like many other countries, closed its embassy and consulates in Afghanistan. However, in recent months, India has developed a more positive relationship with the Taliban and increased its engagement with the regime.
While no country has formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government due to concerns over human rights and terrorism, several nations have maintained diplomatic or informal relations with the regime.
