Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday held a virtual summit and both leaders said they want both countries to be free of terrorism. PM Modi said he is concerned about the rise of violence in Afghanistan.
"I am concerned about the rise of violence in Afghanistan. The targeting of the civilians, journalists and workers by the terrorists is a cowardice action. We support an immediate stop to the war. Both India and Afghanistan want to see the region free of terrorism,” he said.
Speaking on India-Afghan friendship, Modi said that “India has always supported Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-supported initiatives. Unified Afghanistan can fight any calamities”, adding that Afghanistan’s success is the all-around success of India.
During the virtual meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of the Lalandar (Shatoot) Dam in Afghanistan was signed between both nations.
The MoU was signed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Afghan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar.
Thanking India’s PM for the gift of water by signing an agreement on Shahtoot dam, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, also thanked India for 5,00,000 doses of the Coronavirus vaccine.
Expressing gratitude, Ghani said, "With Shahtoot reservoir, we will be able to implement our vision of restoring natural beauty that captivated the imagination of Babur. I thank India and Prime Minister Modi for offering this gift of water, in addition to the gift of vaccines."
India’s attention to Afghanistan and its offers of the gift of life to Kabul is heartily appreciated, said Ghani, adding that, “people of Afghanistan symbolise the value of decency, democracy, humanity, mutual interest, mutual respect, mutual trust and our interdependent world."
"Your decision to provide us with 5,00,000 doses of the vaccine at this critical time when Indians themselves are looking for every single vaccine could not be a greater gift. These will be administered to our frontline health workers and our heroic security forces and vulnerable people. We cherish this act of exceptional generosity," Ghani said.
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He further added, "This is the moment for regional consensus and international consensus. For a guarantee of a stable and prosperous Afghanistan.”
The world and all stakeholders need to respect the rules of sovereignty and international relations and stop interfering in the affairs of their neighbours, said the Afghan President.
Notably, this is the second important dam being constructed by India in Afghanistan after the India- Afghanistan Friendship Dam - Salma Dam, which was inaugurated in 2016.