So far the Indian involvement in Afghanistan has been centered on the needs of the people of Afghanistan. These have been in consultation with Afghanistan’s elected government.
Infrastructural development:
- Indians have constructed major projects like the Parliament Building in Kabul, the Zaranj Delaram highway project connecting western Afghanistan with the strategic Chabahar port in Iran and the Salma Dam Project (Afghan-India Friendship Dam) which includes a power transmission line.
- Indian engineers are helping to construct the Shahtoot dam near Kabul
- India has also signed a trilateral preferential trade agreement with Afghanistan and Iran.
Military and administrative cooperation
- India is engaged in strengthening Afghan public institutions
- Technical advisers, training for Afghan public servants, policemen and soldiers.
- Supplying military hardware like military vehicles for the Afghan National Army and Mi-25 and Mi-35 choppers for the air force.
Social development
- India has provided multiple scholarships to Afghan students
- Providing vocational training and skill development classes to Afghan women and youth.
- Afghanistan was among the first countries to receive anti Covid-19 vaccination from India.
- India’s liberal visa policy has made it easier for Afghan patients to travel to India which has further enhanced people-to-people interaction between the two countries.
People to people contact
- Indian cinema has a large market in Afghanistan.
- India’s involvement and contribution to the development of cricket in Afghanistan has been one of its primary means of soft power influence in the nation.
