STRONGER TIES Indian PM says cooperation will extend to every part of Afghanistan, is awarded country’s highest civilian honour
HERAT (AFGHANISTAN): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated a $290-million hydroelectric dam built with Indian aid in the Afghan city of Herat on Saturday, the latest reflection of the strengthening ties between the two countries.
PTI PHOTOPrime Minister Narendra Modi with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on Saturday.India has provided more than $2 billion as aid to Afghanistan since the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001. The inauguration of the Salma dam, also known as the Afghanistan-India friendship dam, came just five months after Modi inaugurated the new $90-million Afghan parliament built by India in Kabul.
Modi and Ghani jointly pressed a button to start the dam’s three turbines as engineers released balloons in celebration. “With the inauguration of the ‘Afghanistan-India friendship dam’, the first such large Indianfunded project is completed,” Ghani said. “We hope this will lead to the development of many such projects.”
Modi said, “Afghans and Indians dreamt of this project in the 1970s. Today, the brave Afghan people are sending a message that the forces of destruction, death, denial and domination shall not prevail.”
Ties between India and Afghanistan have grown stronger at a time when Kabul has indicated it will not depend on Islamabad for bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table. Following a devastating suicide attack in Kabul in April that killed 64 people, Ghani called on Pakistan to take military action against the Taliban.
Modi said in his speech that India’s investment in Chabahar “will give Afghanistan a new route to the world and a new path to prosperity”. He added, “The fruits of our friendship are not confined to Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar and Herat. They will never be. Our cooperation will extend to every part of Afghanistan.”
Modi also thanked Afghans for putting themselves “in the line of fire” to protect Indian interests in the face of attacks. PM GETS AFGHANISTAN’S TOP CIVILIAN HONOUR PM Narendra Modi was conferred the Amir Amanullah Khan Award, the country’s highest civilian honour, by Ghani after the inauguration of the dam.
India-Afghanistan ties on new course with Friendship Dam
Kabul confers its highest civilian award on Narendra Modi
PM Narendra Modi with Afghan Prez Ashraf Ghani after inaugurating the dam in Herat. PTI
Simran Sodhi
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 4
If symbols define a relationship, then all the correct signs were on display today when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Afghan city of Herat. The inauguration of the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, seemed the perfect occasion to display to the world, and to a particular neighbour, the growing bond between India and Afghanistan.The dam was inaugurated by Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Modi aptly summed up the mood in his speech, saying “We are reviving a region, restoring hope, renewing life and redefining Afghanistan’s future. The dam is a generator not just of electricity but also of optimism and belief in the future of Afghanistan.” Ghani displayed great warmth in his address to the PM as he welcomed Modi to his “second home” and said a “long-standing dream” of the country had been realised after 30 years with help from India. The PM, in his speech, evoked the great Persian poet, Jalaluddin Rumi, when talking about Herat. “And the city that once Jalaluddin Rumi held as the finest, will rise again,” he said. “In the Holy Quran, river is central to the image of paradise. In the ancient scriptures of India, rivers defined our nation and were celebrated as the giver of life. And, an Afghan proverb says, Kabul be zar basha be barf ne (May Kabul be without gold rather than snow),” he said. Ghani, returning the compliment, said, “Today, we come together to make India-Afghan ties and friendship eternal. This dam will chart a new course of cooperation and prosperity.” “Contrary to those who spread chaos and destruction, we two countries have taken a joint decision to build and grow,” said Ghani.His veiled reference to Pakistan was loud and clear and may be a relief for many in India who initially perceived Ghani having a pro-Pakistan tilt. The Afghan-India Friendship Dam will irrigate 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW of power. Modi’s speech referred to the strategically important Chabahar port deal that was recently signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan. The Chabahar agreement will provide India a greater access to Central Asia and also provide Afghanistan an alternative port to Karachi. Afghanistan conferred its highest civilian honour, the Amir Amanullah Khan Award, on Modi to underline the importance Afghanistan attaches to India. It was only last December that Modi had inaugurated the new Parliament complex in Kabul built by India at a cost of $90 million.