Reiterating the need for an inclusive government in Afghanistan, India on Sunday stressed on finding ways to help the Afghan people. Addressing the third India-Central Asia Dialogue, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said there is a need to ensure that uninterrupted humanitarian aid is provided to Afghanistan. The Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are participating in this dialogue organized by India in Delhi.

Jaishankar said, “We all have deep historical and civilizational ties with Afghanistan. Our concerns and objectives are the same in that country.” “We must find ways to help the people of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that India is committed to taking its relations with Central Asia to the next level. Jaishankar emphasized on adopting a ‘Four C’ approach i.e. commerce, capacity enhancement, connectivity and connectivity focused approach to enhance cooperation between the two sides. “Today our meeting took place in the midst of a rapidly changing global economy and political situation. The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a huge blow to global health and the economy.”

“The societies, supply chains and governance that we envisioned has changed the way we think. It has also highlighted the inadequacies of multilateral infrastructure to deal with new and emerging threats.” He emphasized the need for more regional solutions to address diverse supply chains and various challenges. “India will be your stable partner,” he said.

Significantly, in the last few years, India has been focusing on increasing cooperation with energy-rich Central Asian countries. Recent developments in Afghanistan have confirmed the importance of Central Asian countries and three of them, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, share borders with the war-torn country.

After the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan, the situation here has gone from bad to worse. The scenario is that the country has become a stronghold of terrorism. During the dialogue, the foreign ministers of these countries said that there is a need to respect the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. They reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan. “The ministers reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan, emphasizing respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs,” a joint statement said.