India has announced that it will reopen its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul after four years. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar made the announcement on Friday during a meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi.
India closed its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took power in 2021, but a small mission was re-established a year later for trade, medical aid and humanitarian activities.
Jaishankar said during the meeting that "India fully respects the sovereignty, integrity and independence of Afghanistan." He added that close cooperation between the two countries will help in regional stability and development. According to him, the Indian technical mission is now being given full embassy status.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that "Afghanistan considers India a close friend" and that India was the first country to provide aid after the recent earthquake. He said that Afghanistan wants to advance relations with India on the basis of mutual respect, trade and people-to-people contacts.
Currently, India has not officially recognized the Taliban government, but there are signs of easing relations through meetings and discussions between senior officials of the two countries.
The meeting came at a time when Muttaqi attended a regional meeting in Moscow, in which Pakistan, Iran, China and Central Asian countries opposed the US proposal to regain control of Bagram Air Base.
Post a Comment