Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday inaugurated the newly-built Afghan parliament building in Kabul.
Opening the parliament building in Kabul, Modi pledged India’s support for the Afghan government and urged regional powers including Pakistan to work together to foster peace.
The building is the latest symbol of a longstanding diplomatic effort by New Delhi to cultivate its links to Afghanistan.
As well as the parliament building, India is also supplying three Russian-made Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan’s small air force, adding badly needed capacity to provide close air support to its hard-pressed security forces.
Without referring directly to Pakistan, India’s traditional rival in the region, Modi said that some had seen “sinister designs in our presence” in Afghanistan.
“India is here to contribute, not to compete; to lay the foundation of future, not light the flame of conflict,” he told lawmakers in Kabul, adding that Afghanistan could never “serve the designs of others”.
Modi said that regional support would be vital to bring peace and control terrorism.
“We know that Afghanistan’s success will require the cooperation and support of each of its neighbours,” he said. “And all of us in the region – India, Pakistan, Iran and others – must unite in trust and cooperation behind the common purpose and in recognition of our common destiny.”
