India, Afghanistan to further strengthen ties

NEW DELHI - Appreciating India’s efforts to help restore normalcy in Afghanistan, country’s Ambassador to India, Nangyalai Tarzi has expressed desire to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.

Speaking on the occasion of a screening of a short film ‘Humsaye-Two Nations, Two Neighbours’, here on Friday, Tarzi said: “India has stood with Afghanistan in rebuilding their nation during the periods of war, misery and destruction.”

“One thing which I say as an Afghan, as a representative of the government, we are grateful and we are thankful to India which stood with us rebuild our country,” he added.

Jayant Prasad, Special Secretary of Public Diplomacy Division of India’s Ministry of External Affairs said: “”India and Afghanistan share common challenges. We live in an area…with terrorism and insurgencies and the biggest challenge of all is that of nation building and bringing the fruits of development to the common people. There are challenges and there are opportunities and we believe that If Afghanistan does well, Afghans do well, that will equally be India’s success.”

The director of the film Aparna Srivastava Reddy said that she was inspired and influenced by the similarities and commonalities in the culture of the two countries.

“The brief for ‘Humsaye’ was to trace the Afghan-India connection through the ages to the present times. It turned to be a walk through the subcontinent’s composite cultural history into what makes us who we are. The language we speak has gained a lot from Afghanistan,” said Reddy.

India has full diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Afghanistan’s various projects.

Afghanistan holds strategic importance for India as New Delhi seeks friendly allies in the neighborhood, because Afghanistan is perceived as a gateway to energy-rich Central Asian states. (ANI)