NEW DELHI, 25 February 2005 — Taking their bilateral ties to new heights, India and Afghanistan signed two accords yesterday on enhancing cooperation in civil aviation and media and information. The accords were signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
The aviation agreement “is aimed at building capacity and strengthening institutional infrastructure of Afghanistan’s civil aviation sector,” a Foreign Ministry statement said. “This would include training in areas of airport management, air traffic control and navigational aids including safety and maintenance of aircraft.”
The second accord calls for closer links between television and media organizations. India has already installed a satellite television uplinking facility in Kabul connecting it with 10 provincial capitals, the statement said. “Work has already commenced on restoration and augmentation of television hardware in Jalalabad and Nangarhar provinces,” it added. “India will be taking up the next phase of augmentation of TV coverage through additional satellite uplinks and downlinks.”
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Afghan Transport Minister Enayatullah Qasemi signed the memorandum on cooperation in civil aviation, while the memorandum of understanding in the field of media and information was signed by Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy and Afghan Information and Culture Minister Sayed Makhdum Rahin.
During his talks with Indian premier yesterday, Karzai discussed India’s assistance to Kabul in its reconstruction program and the proposed pipeline project for transporting gas from Iran to India.
Karzai has urged the Indian government to send more Indian teachers and doctors to upgrade social infrastructure in his war-ravaged country. To facilitate trade between India and Afghanistan, he has promised to take up with Pakistan the proposed trade corridor for Indian exports to Afghanistan.
Indian Foreign Office spokesman Navtej Sarna said it was agreed that state-run carrier Indian Airlines would start flying between New Delhi and Kabul from March 27.
He added that India had agreed to “fund and execute” a power transmission line between Pul-e-Khumri in northern Afghanistan and Kabul to take care of the Afghan capital’s acute power shortages.
“India is committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and will continue to stress on building its roads, telecommunication, health, power and other infrastructure,” said Sarna. India has also decided to fund construction of a new Parliament building in Afghanistan. Indian and Afghan engineers have had preliminary level discussions about the layout and design of the Parliament.
