Engaging With Afghanistan At Regional, International Level: Centre

^{India has been engaging with Afghanistan at both the regional as well as international level by attending several meetings in various formats, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.}

Responding to media queries on New Delhi's engagements with Kabul, the official spokesperson of the MEA, Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have been attending several meetings on Afghanistan in various formats, both on a regional level as well as the international level."

"We have been attending several meetings on Afghanistan in various formats, both on a regional level as well as the international level. You have seen that, we recently also participated in a regional meeting in Kabul, which our head of the technical team attended," Jaiswal said during the presser.

The MEA spokesperson further added that the recent regional meeting that was attended by India's side in Kabul should also be seen in the context of engagements with the nation.

He said, "...the meeting of India's long-standing friendship with the Afghan people and the humanitarian assistance that we are carrying out in the country...this particular meeting we attended, should also be seen in that particular context. That is where we are in engagement with Afghanistan."

The Indian representative engaged in a meeting with Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, and expressed India's active participation in both international and regional initiatives concerning Afghanistan.

The representative also emphasised India's unwavering support for all efforts aimed at fostering stability and development in the war-torn nation.

"India actively takes part in international and regional initiatives regarding Afghanistan and supports every effort leading to the stability and the development of Afghanistan," posted Hafiz Zia Ahmed, Deputy Spokesman and Assistant Director of Public Relations, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Notably, Muttaqi met with the ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions of the regional countries in the region, including India.

Other diplomats and ambassadors were from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Indonesia, the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

"Calling the current diplomatic relations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with the countries of the region remarkable, FM Muttaqi stressed that regional countries should hold regional peace talks to increase and continue positive interaction with Afghanistan, adding that Muttaqi asked the participants to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in Afghanistan based on a region-oriented tradition so as to coordinate in managing the potential threats," the release added.

Earlier in its continued efforts to help Afghanistan, India, on January 23, supplied 40,000 litres of Malathion, a pesticide used to fight locust menaces, through the Chabahar port.

The Taliban-controlled Ministry of Agriculture expressed gratitude for this assistance, highlighting its significance in protecting crops and ensuring food security in Afghanistan.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in Afghanistan also thanked India for supplying 40,000 litres of Malathion, a pesticide used to fight locust menaces. Already grappling with poverty, Afghanistan found itself sinking further into destitution due to international isolation and the economic turmoil triggered by the Taliban's takeover in 2021

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