India concerned about development in Afghanistan: Foreign Secretary
Speaking at an event, Shringla said India’s development partnership with Afghanistan includes more than 500 projects spread across each of 34 provinces of the country.
FollowNew Delhi: Stating that New Delhi has a civilisational relationship with the Afghan people, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said as a neigbouring country India is naturally concerned about the unfolding situations in Afghanistan and their external repercussions.
Speaking at an event, Shringla said India’s development partnership with Afghanistan includes more than 500 projects spread across each of 34 provinces of the country. “They cover critical areas such as power, water supply, road connectivity, healthcare, education, agriculture and capacity building.”
He also said that the neighbourhood remains India’s primary diplomatic arena.
“The primacy given to the neighbourhood in our diplomatic efforts is reflected in our Neighbourhood First policy which has been a defining feature of India’s foreign policy since 2014,” he added.
Capacity building and training have been one of the main levers of India’s development partnership with Afghanistan, the secretary said.
Also read: Thousands of Afghans protest against Taliban in Kandahar over evictions
Highlighting about India’s development assistance programme for Afghanistan, he said “we have built primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities across Afghanistan.”
Over 65,000 Afghan students have studied in India. On humanitarian assistance, he said Afghanistan was accorded primacy in the supply of Covid-19 vaccines under India’s Vaccine Maitri initiative in the neighbourhood. “We have also reached out with humanitarian food assistance worth millions of tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan.”
Talking about the government’s priority in the wake of change of political scenario in Afghanistan, he said India’s immediate focus has been the evacuation of Indian nationals from Afghanistan. Most Indian nationals were able to leave Kabul in August.
“A number of Afghans, including minorities, who were desirous of travelling to India, also managed to do so. But these processes could not be completed due to the security situation at the airport. Resumption of flights from Kabul airport is, therefore, a priority. We are closely monitoring the unfolding situation.”
NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitize, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona
