Modi to inaugurate India-built dam in Afghanistan

In yet another example of India's developmental aid to Afghanistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday jointly with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurate a dam reconstructed with India's assistance.

"Prime Minister will visit Afghanistan on Saturday, June 4, where he will jointly inaugurate the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, with President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani in Herat province in western Afghanistan," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here on Thursday.

"The completion of the dam project represents culmination of years of hard work by about 1,500 Indian and Afghan engineers and other professionals in very difficult conditions," Swarup said.

"It also highlights India's continued commitment to Afghanistan's reconstruction and development."

Originally constructed in 1976 on the Hari river basin, the Salma Dam suffered extensive damage during the civil war in Afghanistan.

On December 25 last year, Modi and Ghani jointly inaugurated a new building of the Afghan parliament in Kabul built with India's aid.

Last month, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement for the development of the Chabahar port in Iran for transport and transit corridor.

During his meeting with Ghani on Saturday, Modi will also take stock of the situation in Afghanistan.

"The forthcoming meeting between the prime minister and President Ghani will also provide an opportunity to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and how the two countries can cooperate further for promoting peace and stability in that country," Swarup.

Modi will stop over in Herat for the dam inauguration on his way to Doha, Qatar, on the first day of his five-nation tour that will also take him to Switzerland, the US and Mexico.

Modi was last in Afghanistan in December when he inaugurated the Afghan parliament built with India's aid.

--IANS

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