Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Iran and India on Sunday have flagged off a shipment of 15000 tons wheat from New Delhi to Kabul through the Iranian Chabahar port. This is 1st shipment of wheat that comes to Afghanistan, connecting India to Afghanistan via seaport. Sushma Swaraj said it is a gift from Indians to Afghan brethren.
Afghanistan’s foreign minister Salahuddin Rabbani, his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Javad Zarif of Iran were attended the flagged off ceremony in India.
The shipment is a part of commitment made by the Indian government to supply 1.1 million tons of wheat to Afghanistan on grant basis.
According to the commitment, India would send six more wheat shipments to Afghanistan over the next few months.
Rabbani, Swaraj and Zarif renewed their pledge to bolster mutual cooperation in the interest of the people of Afghanistan and the region as a whole.
New Delhi would continue supporting Afghanistan’s reconstruction, capacity-building and socio-economic development, including under the framework of the New Development Partnership, Swaraj said.
She also highlighted India’s commitment to working closely with regional and international partners to bring peace, security, stability and prosperity to Afghanistan.
She added, it is testament to the continued commitment of the government and the people of India to support our Afghan brethren in building a normal, peaceful, prosperous, secure and bright future for them.
Swaraj also thanked the Iranian government for providing required assistance in facilitating the movement of this gift through Chabahar seaport on its soil. She also thanked Salahuddin Rabbani for joining her in the flag off ceremony. Salahuddin Rabani also held a video conference with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.
“This shows the convergence between the ancient civilizations of Afghanistan, India and Iran to spur unhindered flow of commerce and trade throughout the region,” Swaraj added.
“The people of Afghanistan, India and Iran have been connected through centuries; shared commonalities of art and culture, ideas and knowledge; language and traditions. Today, we are rejuvenating these connects and commonalities. I believe that this is the starting point of our journey to realize the full spectrum of connectivity – from culture to commerce; from traditions to technology; from investments to IT; from services to strategy; and from people to politics, that has been visualized by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Swaraj added.
She further reiterated India’s commitment to work closely with its regional and international partners to bring durable peace, security and stability in Afghanistan.
Similarly, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his message on Twitter account has also congratulated Afghanistan and Iran on wheat shipment that was flagged off from Kandla to Afghanistan.
The civil society activists and General Afghan masses have strongly appreciated the Indian initiative of providing wheat through Chabahar port.
