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PM Modi to hold talks with Afghanistan president today, Shehtoot dam agreement likely
The Shehtoot dam, which will provide clean water to around 2 million residents of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, will be the second dam that India will be building in the neighbouring country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani will hold a virtual summit on Tuesday, the first such summit for New Delhi in 2021. Apart from the top leaders, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Afghan counterpart Mohammed Haneef Atmar are also likely to attend the meeting.
Both the countries are likely to sign the agreement on Shehtoot dam, which will be constructed on the Kabul river basin, one of the five river basins of Afghanistan. The Shehtoot dam, which will provide clean water to around 2 million residents of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, will be the second dam that India will be building in the neighbouring country. The agreement for the dam was announced by Jaishankar during his address to the Afghanistan 2020 Conference in November. MEA’s official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said that India and Afghanistan have reached an agreement on the dam and are expected to sign it shortly. India has also built the Salma or India–Afghanistan friendship dam in Herat Province in the country.
Along with the Shehtoot dam, India has also pledged to rebuild Afghanistan committing to $80 million worth of projects. The two sides may also discuss counter-terrorism cooperation and concerns regarding cross-border terrorism.
New Delhi and Kabul have shared a close partnership for many years. Recently, India sent 75,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan and more than 20 tonnes of life-saving medicines and other equipment to help the country during the coronavirus pandemic.
India also sent Covid-19 vaccines to Afghanistan on Sunday after which Afghan foreign minister Atmar thanked India for the help and emphasised the importance of the strong partnership between the countries. "My profound gratitude to my friend Dr S Jaishankar, the government and people of India for assisting 500,000 dozes of "Made in India" vaccines to address Covid spread in Afghanistan. A clear sign of generosity, commitment and strong partnership indeed," Atmar tweeted.
