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Statement by External Affairs Minister
Shri S. M. Krishna
at the Conference on Afghanistan
28/01/2010
Mr. Chairman,
The life of the great Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, or Frontier Gandhi, as he
is known in India, exemplifies the region’s interlinked destiny. This
apostle of non-violence was born in what is now Pakistan, led the
freedom struggle in undivided India, and was laid to rest in
Afghanistan.
Afghanistan should emerge as a trade, transportation and energy hub
linking together the countries of the region, from Central to South
Asia. Unfettered transit and transport linkages between Afghanistan and
the countries of SCO and SAARC could provide larger markets for Afghan
products. Growing economic interdependence could catalyze peace and
prosperity in the region at large and in Afghanistan in particular.
For Afghanistan’s stabilisation it is essential for the neighbouring and
regional countries to ensure that support, sustenance and sanctuaries
for terrorist organisations is ended forthwith.
As agriculture is key to Afghanistan’s development, India is today
pleased to announce two new initiatives to assist in faculty and student
development in the agricultural sector. We shall provide a hundred
fellowships every year for the next five years for Afghans to pursue
Masters and PhD programmes in Indian universities, for rapidly building
expertise in this area. We will also support sending 200 fresh students
to India each year, for five years, for degree programmes in agriculture
and related areas.
The principal objective of India’s development partnership, covering the
entire country and straddling all sectors of development, is to build
indigenous Afghan capacities and institutions. In this context, I am
happy to announce India’s strong support to the proposed Afghan National
Institution Building Project.
India last year contributed to bringing Uzbek electricity to Kabul by
constructing a 202 kilometres transmission line. This was energised when
Kabul began receiving power through a 220 KV sub-station at Chimtala,
the largest in Afghanistan, also built by India. We worked on this
project together with the Afghan Government, ADB and the World Bank,
with inputs from USAID and international energy firms. This is an
outstanding example of regional and international cooperation in
Afghanistan. We need to build many more such partnerships in the years
to come.
I thank you.
London
January 28, 2010
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