NEW DELHI: Stepping up its level of interaction with the Taliban-led government in Kabul since they returned to power in 2021, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday.
India's approach in engaging with the Taliban has been incremental, primarily focused on providing humanitarian assistance, but this meeting signals a potential shift towards more diplomatic interactions in the days to come.
The sides exchanged views on a range of issues related to bilateral relations and regional developments as Afghanistan underscored its sensitivities to India’s security concerns which mostly involve Pakistan-based outfits using its territory for anti-India activities.
India has expressed its readiness to help the developmental needs of the Afghan people.
“The Foreign Secretary underlined India’s historic friendship with the Afghan people and the strong people to people contacts between the two countries. In this context, he conveyed India’s readiness to respond to the urgent developmental needs of the Afghan people,” said a statement from the External Affairs Ministry.
The Afghan minister expressed appreciation to the Indian leadership for its continued support to the people of Afghanistan. Given the current need for development, it was agreed that India would consider expanding its involvement to include development projects in the near future, alongside its ongoing humanitarian efforts.
India has so far dispatched several shipments consisting of 50,000 MTs of wheat, 300 tons of medicines, 27 tons of earthquake relief aid, 40,000 litres of pesticides, 100 million polio doses, 1.5 million doses of COVID Vaccine, 11,000 units of hygiene kits for the drug de-addiction programme, 500 units of winter clothing and 1.2 tons of stationery kits, etc.
India will initially provide additional material support to Afghanistan’s health sector and assist with the rehabilitation of refugees. The two sides also discussed enhancing cooperation in sports, particularly cricket, which is widely appreciated by Afghanistan’s younger generation.
The two sides also agreed to promote the use of the Chabahar port to support trade, commercial activities, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. Chabahar port in Iran developed with Indian assistance provides port access to landlocked Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.