India, Afghanistan agree to bolster security cooperation

India and Afghanistan on Monday agreed to strengthen security cooperation in an effort to ensure peace and stability in the region.

The commitment was made at the third meeting of Joint Working Group on Political and Security Cooperation between India and Afghanistan at Kabul. Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Hekmat Khalil Karzai, and Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale co-chaired the meeting.

Both sides stressed the need to continue working together towards a stable, peaceful and prosperous region that is free from terrorism and extremism, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) read.

Gokhale and Karzai discussed Indian assistance to Afghanistan and regional issues of mutual interest to the two countries. The two sides also agreed that bilateral cooperation between India and Afghanistan further strengthens political and economic stability in the region. The Indian side reiterated its support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process.

The two officials also expressed satisfaction over the successful completion of several development projects such as the Afghan Parliament building, Storay Palace and Afghan-India Friendship Dam. They agreed to further enhance their development cooperation, including high impact community development projects and infrastructure projects under the new development partnership, the statement added.

Both sides agreed to hold fourth meeting of the Joint Working Group in New Delhi on mutually convenient dates in 2019.