India adds $ 100 million to its aid to Afghanistan

Kabul, Jan 23: India today announced an enhancement in its bilateral aid for Afghanistan by a sum of 0 million, bringing the total amount of assistance to 760 million Dollar.

The announcement was made during the ongoing visit of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Mr Mukherjee, on a day's visit to invite President Hamid Karzai to the forthcoming SAARC summit in New Delhi in April, said Afghanistan, in what will be the first ever expansion of SAARC, will be admitted as its full fledged member at the summit.

A tripartite agreement for providing training for capacity building in the civil services was also signed between India, Afghanistan and the UNDP during the visit.

Under the agreement, both India and the UNDP will provide 1.08 million dollars each for the purpose.

Addressing a joint press conference, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said India and Afghanistan had special ties and shared historical and cultural links. ''India, with its variety of cultures was one of the oldest and largest democracies and Afghanistan could learn much from it. The two countries also faced common threats,'' he said.

Though terrorism emanating from Pakistan was a crucial factor affecting both countries, the ministers evaded the subject.

Mr Mukherjee said he had expressed hope that India and Pakistan would come together to provide peace and stability to the entire region. "Pakistan should provide Indian goods and services transit through the land routes as this would help Afghanistan emerge as a link between South Asia and Central Asia", he added.

Mr Mukherjee, who met the speaker of the lower house of Parliament Younus Qanini and the chairman of the External Affairs Committee Rasool Sayyaf earlier in the day, was expected to call on President Hamid Karzai later this day.

He was also expected to inaugurate a new poly-clinic and hand over a consignment of medicines to the Indira Gandhi Institute of child care. A road outside the institute is to be named after the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

UNI