KABUL: The first ever yellow lentilscargo donated by India has reached to Kabul through Iran’s Chabahar Port, officials said.
Following Indian food donation, this country has donated 1998 metric tons of yellow lentils to Afghanistan. The first cargo of the yellow lentils has arrived today in Kabul and handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), said a statement issued by MAIL.
The yellow lentils were delivered to the MAIL in presence of Deputy Ministry of Agriculture Mohammad Tahir Ayub and Deputy Ambassador of India in Kabul.
Deputy Ministry of Agriculture Mohammad Tahir Ayub, while voicing pleasure over donation of India, said that India is friend of Afghan nation and Afghanistan, which has assisted Afghan people in different fields of agriculture, reconstruction, education, capacity building and food providing.
While expecting India’s further assistance with Afghan people, he said that using of Chabahar port has revealed that Afghanistan is not depended to one port anymore, so Chabahar port has important value to us.
He stated that MAIL has plan to store the donated yellow lentils in Kabul, Nimroz, Herat, Kandahar, Ghazni and Zabul provinces, which will be distributed to needy people in required condition.
India Ambassador Deputy in Kabul during yellow lentils delivery to MAIL, expressed pleasure over friendship with Afghan nation, adding that we are proud of our friendship with Afghan and our friendship is unique in the region.
He said that we need to expand this friendship at the level of region.
Beside political security, food protection is essential, thus we have donated food items, he added.
He pledged that India will remain committed for its cooperation with the Afghan people.
Deputy Ambassador said that India will grant Afghan youths with 1000, long-term scholarship and 6,000 short-term scholarships.
He said that recently India had donated 110,000 metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan, which was transferred through Chabahar port to Afghanistan and shifted to different provinces.
According to MAIL, out of 220,000 tons of stored wheat, 119,000 tons distributed to drought affected people in different provinces. Most part of the distributed wheat to need people was the Indian donated wheat.