India holds highest-level talks with Taliban over security concerns, trade and aid
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Previously, India has only sent officials at the joint secretary level to Kabul to engage with the former militant group which now holds power in Afghanistan. India discussed diplomatic relations, security concerns, and humanitarian aid with Afghanistan at its highest-level talks with the Taliban on Wednesday in Dubai.
Indian foreign minister Vikram Misri met with the group’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as the two sides discussed expanding bilateral ties, with an increased focus on India’s security concerns, boost in trade through the Chabahar Port in Iran, and Indian investments in several development projects inside Afghanistan.
“Today, foreign secretary Vikram Misri had a meeting with the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Dubai. The two sides discussed various issues pertaining to bilateral relations as well as regional developments,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Previously, India has only sent officials at the joint secretary level to Kabul to engage with the former militant group which now holds power in Afghanistan. However, Wednesday’s engagement of delegations from both sides marked India’s first ever such high-level talks with the Taliban leaders since the collapse of the Nato-led administration in Afghanistan in August 2021.
