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    Taliban govt reaches out to India for investments in urban infrastructure

    Synopsis

    The request came at a recent meeting with the head of the Indian technical mission in Kabul, said officials. The Taliban regime is keen that Indian businessmen invest in the urban and housing sector, especially in the New Kabul City project, they said.

    1.Reuters
    Since the Taliban takeover India has donated consignments of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
    The Taliban government in Afghanistan has urged India, including the private sector, to invest in infrastructure projects in the landlocked country that could generate jobs and boost the local economy.

    The request came at a recent meeting with the head of the Indian technical mission in Kabul, said officials. The Taliban regime is keen that Indian businessmen invest in the urban and housing sector, especially in the New Kabul City project, they said.

    Afghanistan has also requested India to provide Afghan nationals with scholarships for postgraduate and PhD degrees in the civil and urban development affairs to augment the engineering capacity in the country. India-funded projects will facilitate job opportunities, decrease poverty and unemployment, and boost development in the country, according to the Taliban government.

    Before the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, India had invested in developmental and capacity-building projects of about $3 billion under a grant programme. But India has not taken a call on the request given the security situation in Afghanistan, even as it maintains engagement with the regime in Kabul.

    Key projects backed by India in Afghanistan in the past included the 42MW Salma Dam in Herat province and the 218-km Zaranj-Delaram highway built by the Border Roads Organisation. India also built the Afghan Parliament in Kabul. In 2016, the then Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the restored Stor Palace in Kabul, initially built in the late 19th century. India also constructed one of the leading hospitals in Kabul.

    India has supported Afghanistan in the past, including in developing human resources, training professionals and offering scholarships and admissions to Afghan students to study in India. It also operationalised air freight corridors and the Chabahar Port to enhance regional connectivity to Afghanistan.

    Since the Taliban takeover India has donated consignments of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. These include 40,000 metric tonnes of wheat, about 50 tonnes of medical aid consisting of essential lifesaving medicines, anti-TB medicines, 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, essential medical and surgical items and 28 tonnes of other disaster relief material.


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