Afghan FM Muttaqi arrives in Delhi amid ongoing diplomatic talks
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New Delhi: Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday for an official week-long visit, aimed at discussing bilateral relations and regional issues.
Welcoming Muttaqi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) tweeted, "We look forward to engaging discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues." The Afghan minister will remain in India until October 16.
During his visit, Muttaqi is expected to meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Muttaqi’s visit had been scheduled earlier but was delayed as he awaited a travel exemption from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Last week, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that the UNSC Committee granted the exemption for his travel to New Delhi from October 9 to 16.
Responding to questions on India’s stance regarding recognition of the Taliban-led interim government, Jaiswal stated, "We have been having conversations with the interim government in Afghanistan. You would have seen the telecon between the External Affairs Minister and Foreign Minister Muttaqi. Also, our Joint Secretary has been in discussions with his Afghan counterparts."
New Delhi’s humanitarian assistance and infrastructure development projects in Afghanistan are expected to feature prominently in the discussions. Highlighting recent aid efforts, Jaiswal noted, "When the earthquake occurred, we immediately transported relief material to Kunar province, followed by additional supplies via Chabahar."
The visit continues a series of diplomatic engagements between India and the Taliban regime over the past months, including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s meeting with Muttaqi in January.
Several senior Afghan officials have also visited India recently, including Deputy Minister of Medicine and Food Hamdullah Zahid, who attended the 11th International Exhibition on Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare last month.
This visit reflects India’s continued engagement with Afghanistan on humanitarian, infrastructure, and regional cooperation matters.
With IANS inputs