Ghani invites Modi to Kabul, Bamiyan Valley

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Kabul to inaugurate the parliament building there built by India and also the Bamiyan Valley and other historical sites in his country.

"I look very much forward to receiving you in Kabul and I hope you will not only come to inaugurate the parliament (building) but also visit the Bamiyan Valley and some of our other sites," Ghani said in his media statement after holding talks with Modi.

India is constructing Afghnistan's parliament building in Kabul that is expected to be ready later this year. The Bamiyan Valley, in the Hindu Kush mountains of central Afghanistan, was the site of the famous Bamiyan Buddhas, that were destroyed by the then Taliban regime in 2001.

Ghani also offered his "deepest sympathies" for the Nepal earthquake and praised Modi's leadership for "marshalling resources in this crucial hour".

He also hoped that the Saarc satellite which Modi had promised India will build will help the South Asian neighbours to be "able to predict, and help prepare and deal much more effectively with natural disasters".