New Delhi, Oct 10: External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Thursday welcomed Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to New Delhi, marking the first-ever visit by a senior Taliban leader to India since the group took power in August 2021. The meeting signaled a new chapter in India-Afghanistan engagement, with Jaishankar announcing the upgrading of India’s Technical Mission in Kabul to a full-fledged Embassy.
In his opening remarks at Hyderabad House, Jaishankar described the visit as “an important step in advancing our ties and affirming the enduring friendship between India and Afghanistan.”
“Your visit marks an important step in advancing our ties and affirming the enduring friendship between India and Afghanistan,” Jaishankar told Muttaqi.
He noted that while the two leaders had spoken previously — once after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and again following the Kunar and Nangarhar earthquake — an in-person meeting provided “special value” in allowing both sides to “exchange perspectives, identify common interests, and forge closer cooperation.” Reaffirming India’s longstanding commitment to Afghanistan’s development, Jaishankar said: “As a contiguous neighbour and a well-wisher of the Afghan people, India has a deep interest in your development and progress. Our longstanding partnership that has seen so many Indian projects in Afghanistan stands renewed.”
The External Affairs Minister announced a series of new development and humanitarian initiatives for Afghanistan, including:
• Six new projects in health and infrastructure, details of which will be announced after bilateral talks.
• A gift of 20 ambulances, five of which Jaishankar personally handed over to Muttaqi as a “symbolic gesture of goodwill.”
• Supply of MRI and CT scan machines, vaccines, and cancer medicines for Afghan hospitals.
• Continued support for drug rehabilitation programmes through the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Jaishankar also underlined India’s role as a “first responder” in times of crisis, recalling how Indian relief teams rushed assistance to earthquake-hit areas in Afghanistan last month.
