Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani greet each before inaugurating the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul through video conferencing. (Photo: PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani greet each before inaugurating the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul through video conferencing. (Photo: PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the 1.25 billion people of India will “always” stand with Afghanistan in ensuring peace and prosperity as he jointly inaugurated through video conferencing the restored Stor Palace in Kabul with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
Prime Minister Modi also spoke of Afghanistan being challenged by “externally sponsored instruments and entities of violence and terror”, a thinly-veiled reference to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, without naming any country. This comes at a time when Afghanistan has openly backed India on the issue of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
“Afghanistan is a close friend. Our societies and people have had age old ties and links. It, therefore, saddens us to see that your proud nation continues to be challenged by externally sponsored instruments and entities of violence and terror. Let me assure the people of Afghanistan that in your quest to build a prosperous Afghanistan and to bring peace, security and stability to your society, the 1.25 billion people of India will always be on your side,” he said. Mr Modi, while speaking from his South Block office, stressed that “whatever may be the odds, India will work with you for a bright future for all Afghans”.
“The pledge of our partnership and strength of our friendship with Afghanistan is unwavering. Today’s event is a testimony to the resolve and range of our cooperative endeavours. We want each Afghan to flourish and your society to be benefited from fruits of economic growth,” he said. According to news agency reports, Mr Ghani said the “logic” of peace and benevolence will defeat the logic of terror and violence as he said India and Afghanistan have always been close friends and joint initiatives like these are a fruitful journey of cooperation between the two nations. Mr Modi underlined that “in our hearts and minds Indians and Afghans have always been closest of friends”.
Mr Modi also thanked the Afghan government for “protecting the Indian embassy and consulates and ensuring the safety and security of Indian experts working in Afghanistan”.
The Prime Minister said, “Today’s video inauguration of Stor Palace is an entirely different, yet in many ways more fundamental, dimension of our engagement. I say this because it brings back to life a valuable landmark of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. The Stor Palace has been the setting for many momentous historical events. To those who cannot see beyond shadows of violence in Afghanistan, the restored Stor Palace is a reminder of the glory of Afghanistan’s rich traditions. And for our Afghan brothers and sisters, it revives the beauty, the richness and splendour of lost memories of Afghan society. True to the foundations of our ties, it links the present of our friendship to the historical bonds of our linkages. I must commend all the artists, experts and consultants who worked day and night to accomplish this delicate task.”
He added, “In December last year, you and the Afghan people stood with me to inaugurate the Afghan Parliament. The inauguration signalled and showed our joint commitment to strengthening the foundations of modern Afghanistan. The India-Afghanistan-Iran transit corridor Agreement that we signed in May this year was another landmark in our partnership. It manifested our clear and common determination to build new pathways for Afghanistan’s economic progress and prosperity and, a month later, in June this year, we joined hands and inaugurated the Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam. The Salma Dam will revive and renew not just the economy and agriculture of the Herat region of Afghanistan. But will also build a strong and lasting pillar of support for Afghanistan’s overall growth and development.”
