India will be upgrading its technical mission in the Afghan capital Kabul to an embassy, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday.
Hindustan Times reported that Jaishankar stated this during a bilateral meeting with Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi, who is currently visiting the South Asian nation.
“Jaishankar said that India will now upgrade its technical mission in the Afghan capital of Kabul to an embassy,” the report added.
“Your visit marks an important step in advancing India-Afghanistan ties. As a well-wisher of the Afghan people, India has a deep interest in your development. Today, I reaffirm that our long-standing partnership, which has supported numerous Indian projects in Afghanistan, continues to stand strong,“ The Indian Express quoted Jaishankar as saying.
Muttaqi’s visit is the first one to India by a Taliban leader since they seized power in 2021.
Historically, India and Afghanistan had friendly relations but New Delhi shut its embassy in Kabul after the 2021 US withdrawal from the war-shattered country and the return to power of the Taliban.
India opened a small mission a year later to facilitate trade, medical support and humanitarian aid.
New Delhi does not officially recognise the Taliban government but has taken tentative steps to thaw ties with meetings and talks between senior officials in their respective foreign ministries.
The visit comes after Muttaqi attended a regional meeting in Moscow where Afghanistan’s neighbours including Pakistan, Iran, China and several Central Asian countries issued a joint statement opposing the deployment of foreign military infrastructure in the region. The statement was regarded as a signal of opposition to US President Donald Trump’s stated objective to retake control of the Bagram military base near Kabul.
So far, Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration.
More to follow
