Afghan Agri Minister's visit marks fourth ministerial engagement since October; air freight corridor boosting trade: MEA
New Delhi, July 14
As India and Afghanistan continue to deepen engagements, the Ministry of External Affairs informed on Tuesday that Agriculture Minister Mawlawi Ataullah Omari's visit to India marked the fourth ministerial-level engagement between the two countries.
He made the remarks while addressing the media briefing here in the national capital on Tuesday and informed that Omari met the Union Agriculture Minister, the Food Processing Minister, and the Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita. He also interacted with industry bodies, including FICCI and the PHD Chamber of Commerce, as well as several national and international organisations associated with the agriculture sector.
"He was here for almost a week. He met with our Agriculture Minister, Food Processing Minister, and Minister of State in External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita. He also had several business meetings with FICCI, the PHD Chamber of Commerce, and several organisations, international and national, connected with agriculture in the country," Jaiswal said.
Highlighting bilateral trade, the MEA spokesperson said the air freight corridor between Kabul and India remains operational and is facilitating the movement of goods between the two countries.
"This was the fourth Ministerial meeting that has happened since October with Afghanistan. Now, the question is, how do we trade? There is an air freight corridor which is in operation between Kabul and India. Through this air freight corridor, trading in goods is happening between Afghanistan and India," he added.
Meanwhile, speaking about India's development cooperation with Bangladesh, Jaiswal said New Delhi's projects are implemented in consultation with Dhaka.
"The development cooperation programme that we have in Bangladesh is done in mutual consultations, and that continues to be the case," he said.
Last week, during the press briefing in New Delhi, Jaiswal underlined that India's development assistance for projects in Bangladesh is based on a mutually agreed roadmap that is regularly reviewed.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting that India is maintaining trade links via air freight while many countries have cut ties. Hope this helps Afghan farmers who've been struggling since the Taliban takeover.
Pragmatic approach by India - keeping channels open without formal recognition of the Taliban. The agriculture focus makes sense since Afghanistan's economy is so dependent on it. Smart diplomacy.
While I appreciate the humanitarian angle, I'm concerned about how much influence the Taliban will get from these engagements. Hope MEA is being careful about not legitimizing their rule while helping ordinary Afghans. 🤔
Air freight corridor is a lifeline! Afghanistan has amazing dry fruits - almonds, pistachios, saffron. This trade will benefit both sides. India's historical ties with Afghanistan shouldn't be broken. 🍇🥜
Fourth ministerial visit since October shows India is serious about maintaining relations. But I wonder what the endgame is - are we hoping for some influence in Kabul? Or just keeping doors open?
Good initiative by MEA. Unlike Pakistan which only talks to Taliban, India is engaging on practical issues like agriculture and trade. This will help ordinary Afghans who are suffering from economic collapse. Well
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