India, Afghanistan call for dismantling terror safe havens

Effectively combating terrorism was one of the major focus areas during the talks Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah had with Indian leaders as both sides emphasised the need to dismantle terror safe havens in the region.

Abdullah, who arrived here on Thursday, held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj during which a wide-range of issues were discussed.

“India and Afghanistan condemned the continuing acts of terror and violence in Afghanistan, including the recent attack at the Kabul airport which had delayed the arrival of Dr Abdullah to India,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

He said both sides asserted that terror safe havens and sanctuaries need to be dismantled.

Kumar said both sides positively assessed the recent developments in bilateral relations, including the outcomes of the recently concluded meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council on September 11, which was co-chaired by the foreign ministers of the two countries.

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India had already announced that it will implement 116 development projects in Afghanistan.

“The New Development Partnership was described as paving the way for the new generation partnership in development cooperation between the two countries,” Kumar said.

In the talks, the Indian leadership reiterated New Delhi’s support for all efforts to build a stable, secure, peaceful, united, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan, he said.

A Memorandum of Understanding on technical cooperation on police training and development was signed and formally exchanged at the meeting between the Chief Executive and the Prime Minister.

“This has created an enabling framework for training and capacity building of Afghan National Police personnel in various fields in addition to India’s ongoing assistance for the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces,” said Kumar.

He said trade and economic cooperation was also the focus of discussions and that better connectivity was emphasised upon by both the sides

“In this context, both sides expressed determination to strengthen the Air Freight Corridor and also welcomed the steps being taken to operationalise the Chahbahar port, including the forthcoming supply of wheat to Afghanistan from October 2017,” he said.

Kumar said Afghanistan was invited to participate in the International Solar Alliance Summit Meeting being held in India in December 2017.