India to support Afghanistan to build strong, peaceful democratic nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will continue to extend its full support to the new government in Afghanistan in its efforts to build a strong and peaceful democratic nation.

Prime Minister Modi made this statement after meeting former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai on Thursday. During the meeting, Karzai briefed the Prime Minister about the developments in Afghanistan following the formation of the government of national unity. The former president further appreciated India's contribution to the development and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

According to reports, Prime Minister Modi also said that he is looking forward to meeting the Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the 18th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit, scheduled to be held in Nepal on November 26-27.

Earlier this week, Karzai, while addressing a conference in the national capital, had stated that Kabul's new foreign policy, which was formulated after the 2001 terror attacks in New York, has placed India in a very prominent position.