India upgrades its Kabul mission to embassy to boost ties with Afghanistan

The reopening of Indian embassy in Kabul comes four years after New Delhi withdrew its officials following the Taliban takeover in August 2021

India on Tuesday upgraded its technical mission in Kabul to the Embassy of India in Afghanistan, effective immediately, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

 

The development comes a few days after the decision was announced during delegation-level talks between Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi.

 

"In keeping with the decision announced during the recent visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister to India, the government is restoring the status of the Technical Mission of India in Kabul to that of the Embassy of India in Afghanistan with immediate effect. This decision underscores India’s resolve to deepen its bilateral engagement with the Afghan side in all spheres of mutual interest," the MEA said.

 

 

It added that the embassy will augment India’s contribution to "Afghanistan’s comprehensive development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity-building initiatives". 

 

The reopening comes four years after India withdrew its officials from Kabul following the Taliban takeover in August 2021. In 2022, a "technical team" was deployed in the Afghan capital, which has now been upgraded to full embassy status.

 

Apart from this, the two sides had also agreed to strengthen trade and commercial ties, particularly in the mining sector, and to restore the air freight corridor to facilitate direct trade. Muttaqi also announced his government would support India-Afghanistan trade via Iran’s Chabahar Port.

 

New Delhi has also pledged to support six projects in Afghanistan, including building a 30-bed hospital in Kabul’s Bagrami district, and resumed food aid to the Afghan population. Before 2021, India was engaged in more than 500 development and infrastructure initiatives across the country, covering sectors from power and water to education and healthcare.