By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, June 3 (NNN-Bernama) — Afghanistan’s interim government said on Thursday India will provide it with more facilities to increase exports as an Indian delegation held talks with acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul.
India has “recently opened up its borders and ports for Afghanistan exports” and it would “provide further facilitates in this area” to help Afghanistan grow its exports, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Twitter.
He said Muttaqi, in his meeting with the Indian delegation headed by the Ministry of External Affairs’ joint secretary J.P. Singh, had thanked India for providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Their discussion focused on India-Afghan diplomatic relations, bilateral trade and humanitarian aid, Balkhi said.
The Indian team also had a meeting with the interim Afghan government’s deputy foreign minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai.
According to Balkhi, Stanekzai assured the Indian delegation that relations between the two countries “would move forward based on mutual respect and joint bilateral legitimate interests”, and would not be influenced by other countries.
The Indian delegation, according to Balkhi, assured Stanekzai “of India’s non-intervention policy towards Afghanistan and that it would not interfere in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.”
In New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi was asked at a media briefing whether the first trip by an official Indian delegation to Kabul since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August last year indicated India could recognise the new administration in the future.
“I think you are reading far too much into this visit,” he said.
Bagchi said the visit was about the humanitarian assistance India was offering to Afghanistan.
“The ongoing visit is to oversee the delivery of this assistance,” he said.
— NNN-BERNAMA