India to rebuild Afghanistan, commits $80 m projects |
Strengthening a long-term friendly relationship and a strong commitment to Afghanistan`s future, India on Tuesday announced about 150 projects worth $80 million in the conflict-ridden country. New Delhi also committed to building a new dam, which will provide drinking water to 2 million residents of Kabul. This new commitment was announced by India`s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Afghanistan 2020 Conference, which he addressed through video-conferencing. Afghanistan`s President Ashraf Ghani, UN, and EU officials, besides representatives of other countries, attended the conference. Since 2002, India has so far committed $3 billion towards rebuilding and reconstruction of Afghanistan. Jaishankar at the conference announced an agreement with Afghanistan for building the Shahtoot dam, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents of Kabul city. It builds on the 202-km Phul-e-Khumri transmission line of 2009, through which India provided power to the city. India will also launch phase-IV of high-impact community development projects in Afghanistan, which include around 150 projects worth $80 million. Stressing that India has invested heavily in peace and development in Afghanistan, he said India strongly believes that the gains of the last two decades must be preserved and the interests of minorities, women and vulnerable sections must be ensured. More than 65,000 Afghan students have studied in India under various scholarship programs and 15,000 students are presently studying; 3,000 scholarships have so far been granted to young Afghan women to pursue higher studies in India.
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