Prime Minister and Afghanistan President assessed progress of strategic partnership

New Delhi, Sep 19: In the wake of strained relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan has proved to be a dependable ally of India. President of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani is visiting India on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Afghanistan president has met the Prime Minister to take the cooperation between the two countries further.

Sources said that both the leaders have assessed the progress of India-Afghanistan strategic partnership. They expressed satisfaction at the increase in bilateral trade that has crossed $1 billion mark. The two leaders also appreciated the successful conclusion of the India-Afghanistan trade and investment show in Mumbai from September 12-15, 2018 and expressed determination to strengthen connectivity, including through Chabahar port and Air-Freight Corridor.

It was agreed to deepen the New Development Partnership in the areas of high impact projects in this field of infrastructure, human resources development and other capacity building projects in Afghanistan. President Ghani briefed the Prime Minister on initiatives by Afghanistan government towards peace and reconciliation and also in confronting the challenges of terrorism and extremism imposed on Afghanistan and its people.

Prime Minister Modi reiterated country's support to an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled peace and reconciliation process that would enable Afghanistan to continue as a united, peaceful, inclusive and democratic nation and emerge as an economically vibrant country. The Prime Minister emphasized India's unwavering commitment to support the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan to this end, as also for the security and sovereignty of Afghanistan.

The PM unequivocally condemned terrorist attacks and violence in Afghanistan which have caused immense loss of precious human lives and expressed solidarity with the people and national defence forces of Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism. "While expressing satisfaction at the coordination and consultation on activities at various international fora, the two sides agreed to strengthen this cooperation and also to work even more closely with their regional and international partners for prosperity, peace, stability and progress," said sources.