Afghanistan should be Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled, says Indian President Ram Nath Kovind
On Tuesday, President Ashraf Ghani of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, called on the Indian Prersident at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Welcoming the Afghan President to India, President Kovind expressed admiration for the astute leadership that he has provided to Afghanistan through difficult times.
He also commended President Ghani for strengthening bilateral relations between India and Afghanistan.
President Kovind recalled President Ghani’s speech at the Heart of Asia Summit in Amritsar in December 2016, and his visit to the Golden Temple.
He added that civilisation-related links and people-to-people contacts provide a strong foundation 'to our ever-growing friendship'.
The President said that in recent times, the two countries have deepened their strategic partnership.
The India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Show in New Delhi brought the businessmen of both countries together and generated business worth over US $ 200 million.
The President expressed happiness at the opening of the air freight corridor between Kandahar and Kabul and Delhi.
He also noted that the Afghan cities of Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat have been connected directly by air to Delhi.
The President said that securing sustained peace and security remain the key fundamentals in leading Afghanistan on the pathway of economic recovery and growth.
Unfortunately, mindless and senseless violence is being imposed on the people of Afghanistan, said President Kovind.
President Kovind strongly condemned recent terror attacks in Afghanistan, including in the provinces of Kabul, Kandahar, Ghazni and Paktia, which resulted in over 200 innocent people being killed.
The President said that India itself has been victim of state-sponsored, cross-border terrorism for decades.
"We can fully empathise with the ongoing quest of the Afghan people to secure peace. India believes that whatever initiatives are taken for bringing peace in Afghanistan should be Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled," the Indian President said.
Image; President of India/Twitter
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