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The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that Indian delegation has held discussions with Afghanistan on the humanitarian aid and the potential of Chabahar port for the landlocked country's export and import.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs said that during the visit to Kabul on November 4-5, JP Singh, Joint Secretary in charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, met with Afghan ministers, including the acting Defence Minister, and former President Hamid Karzai. He also met the head of UN agencies there and several other senior ministers. "They had discussions on India's humanitarian assistance that we are providing to people in Afghanistan, as also how the Chabahar port can be utilised by the business community in Afghanistan for transactions and for export and import and any other thing that they would like to do for," Jaiswal said while addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi. Jaiswal further said that in recent times, India has provided 50,000 metric tons of wheat, 40,000 litres of pesticide, 30 tons of medicine, and 28 tons of earthquake relief aid to Afghanistan. The Chabahar Port is an India-Iran flagship project that serves as an important transit port for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries, which are landlocked countries. The spokesperson further said that providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan is vital for India's assistance programme. "I also want to recall here that providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan is an important part of our assistance program and so far in the last few months, and few years, we have dispatched several shipments of humanitarian assistance which includes 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat, 40,000 litres of Malathion pesticide, 30 tonnes of medicine and 28 tonnes of earthquake relief aid. We have longstanding ties with the people of Afghanistan, and these ties will continue to guide our approach towards the country." Notably, Afghanistan's Acting Minister of National Defence Maulvi Muhammad Yaqoob held a discussion with an Indian delegation led by JP Singh. In a post on X on Wednesday, Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence wrote, "Acting Minister of National Defense met and talked with the Indian delegation. Acting Minister of National Defense Maulvi Muhammad Yaqoob 'Mujahid' today met and talked with an Indian delegation led by JP Singh in his office." "In this meeting, both sides emphasised joint cooperation for the development of bilateral relations, especially humanitarian cooperation and other important issues, and expressed their interest in strengthening more interactions between Afghanistan and India," it added. (ANI)
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