Senior foreign ministry officials of the two countries hold highest-level talks since the Afghan group’s takeover of Kabul in 2021.
The Taliban has called India a “significant regional and economic partner” after a meeting was held between senior foreign ministry officials of the two countries, the highest such talks since the Afghan group’s takeover of Kabul in 2021.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday, reports said.
In a statement later, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they discussed expanding their relations and boosting trade through Chabahar Port in Iran, which India has been developing for goods to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan.
“In line with Afghanistan’s balanced and economy-focused foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate aims to strengthen political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner,” the statement said.
India’s foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting that New Delhi was considering engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and looking to boost trade ties.
India, which hosts thousands of Afghan refugees, also said it will provide “material support” for their rehabilitation back home. Some one million refugees have been repatriated by Pakistan and Iran to Afghanistan since late 2023.
“In response to the request from the Afghan side, India will provide further material support in the first instance to the health sector and for the rehabilitation of refugees,” India’s foreign ministry said in its statement.
Afghan officials say they have already begun distributing land among the repatriated Afghan refugees.
India also said it offered additional support to the Afghan health sector as the two countries discussed strengthening of sports ties, particularly in cricket.
No foreign government, including India, officially recognises the Taliban administration. Yet in June 2022, less than a year after the Taliban returned to power, India reopened its embassy in Kabul, sending a team of “technical experts” to run the mission.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s embassy in New Delhi was closed in November 2023 after diplomats appointed by the Afghan government ousted by the Taliban failed to secure visa extensions from their Indian hosts.
However, in November last year, the Taliban announced the appointment of Ikramuddin Kamil as its acting consul in Mumbai.
India is also one of several countries to facilitate trade, aid and medical support and has sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban.
New Delhi has so far dispatched several shipments consisting of wheat, medicines, COVID vaccines, and winter clothing to Afghanistan.
Wednesday’s meeting came amid rising tensions between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, which last week launched an operation to destroy what it called armed groups in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. Islamabad claims the Pakistan Taliban group uses Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies.
The strikes killed dozens of people, primarily women and children. Earlier this week, India’s foreign office told journalists they condemned the air strikes conducted on Afghan soil.
India and Pakistan have long been rivals and have fought three wars over Kashmir since they won independence from Britain in 1947.
On Wednesday, the Afghan side underlined its sensitivities to India’s security concerns and said they “agreed to remain in touch and continue regular contact at various levels,” the Indian statement said.
