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2020 Afghanistan Conference & Indian Initiative

  • 26 Nov 2020

  • Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, joined the two-day event, 2020 Afghanistan Conference, organized in Geneva, via video link.
  • The conference was co-hosted by the UN, the Afghanistan government, and the government of Finland.
  • India has signed an agreement with Afghanistan for the construction of the Shahtoot Dam, which will provide safe drinking water to two million residents of Kabul city.
  • Shahtoot Dam is a proposed dam in the Kabul river basin, one of the five river basins in Afghanistan.
  • India will also undertake more than 100 projects worth $80 million in Afghanistan.

Major Projects already Executed by India in Afghanistan

  • Delaram-Zaranj Road: It is a 218-km road between Delaram and Zaranj (on the Iranian border), which provides an alternative connectivity for Afghanistan through Iran.
  • Salma Dam: India–Afghanistan friendship dam (also known as the Salma dam).
  • Parliament Building: The Afghan Parliament building which was inaugurated in 2015.

India has undertaken more than 400 projects in all 34 provinces of the country and more than 65,000 Afghan students have come to study in India over the years.