Since the Afghan group’s takeover of Kabul in 2021, senior foreign ministry officials in both countries have been holding high-level talks.
The Taliban described India as a “significant regional and economic partner” after a meeting between senior foreign ministry officials of both countries, the highest level of such talks since the Afghan group’s takeover of Kabul in 2021.
Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri reportedly met Taliban incumbent Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday.
In a later statement, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said it was talking about expanding its ties and boosting trade through Iran’s Chabahar port, which India developed for goods to bypass the Karachi and Gwadar ports in rival Pakistan.
“In line with Afghanistan’s balanced and economically oriented foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate aims to strengthen political and economic relations with India as a major regional and economic partner,” the statement said.
India’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after the meeting that New Delhi was considering engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and strengthening trade ties.
India, which hosts thousands of Afghan refugees, also said it would provide “material support” for their rehabilitation back home. Since the end of 2023, around one million refugees have been repatriated from Pakistan and Iran to Afghanistan.
“In response to the request of the Afghan side, India will provide further material support, initially to the health sector and for the rehabilitation of refugees,” the Indian foreign ministry statement said.
Afghan officials said they have already begun distributing land among the repatriated Afghan refugees.
India also said it was offering additional support to the Afghan health sector as the two countries discussed strengthening sports ties, particularly in cricket.
No foreign government, including India, officially recognizes the Taliban government. But in June 2022, less than a year after the Taliban returned to power, India reopened its embassy in Kabul and sent a team of “technical experts” to lead the mission.
Meanwhile, the Afghan embassy in New Delhi was closed in November 2023 after diplomats appointed by the Taliban-ousted Afghan government were unable to obtain visa extensions from their Indian hosts.
However, in November last year, the Taliban announced the appointment of Ikramuddin Kamil as acting consul in Mumbai.
India is also one of several countries that has facilitated trade, aid and medical support and sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
New Delhi has so far sent several consignments consisting of wheat, medicines, COVID vaccines and winter clothes to Afghanistan.
Wednesday’s meeting came amid rising tensions between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, which last week launched an operation to destroy so-called armed groups in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. Islamabad claims the Pakistani Taliban group is using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan, a claim Kabul denies.
Dozens of people, mostly women and children, were killed in the attacks. Earlier this week, India’s foreign ministry told reporters it condemned the airstrikes on Afghan soil.
India and Pakistan have long been rivals and have fought three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
On Wednesday, the Afghan side stressed its sensitivity to India’s security concerns and said it “agreed to remain in touch and continue regular contact at various levels,” the Indian statement said.
