Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani will arrive here on Wednesday on a two-day visit to New Delhi to hold consultations on key issues and “matters of mutual interest” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is expected that Ghani will also seek increased military assistance for his country to strengthen Afghanistan security forces and combat terrorism.
“The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to continue the close and frequent consultations between the two friendly neighbours, including at the highest level. Such interaction is the hallmark of their strategic partnership and has guided the strengthening of all-round cooperation between the two countries,” Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement while announcing Ghani’s visit.
last year India had given four Mi-25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan and the country has now sought more Defence supplies.
Apart from holding discussions with Modi, who will also host a lunch in his honour, Ghani during his working visit will also interact with the business community and deliver an address at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to India in October, India and Russia reviewed the status of bilateral ties, including cooperation in key areas of defence and security. Putin will be travelling to India in October for BRICS Summit and will also hold a bilateral Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The discussions were a part of the 22nd Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC-TEC) where External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj led the Indian delegation, while Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin, Deputy Chairman, headed the Russian side. The meeting also prepared the ground for the visit of Putin as the leaders reviewed work of various working groups and subgroups under the IRIGC-TEC mechanism.
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday also met visiting Finance Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. Jugnauth is in New Delhi for the discussions on a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement (CECPA) where the two sides decided to explore greater collaboration in the area of Defence and security and enhancing trade ties. India has also offered to provide assistance in terms of hydrographic surveys.
The two sides are also finalising the MoU under which the Metro Express project and other projects announced by Jugnauth in his budget could begin to be implemented, sources said. The long-standing request from Mauritius for restarting negotiations on CECPA and PTA (trade agreement) had also been met and Swaraj thanked Jugnauth for the forward looking decision which had made the protocol on amendment of the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) possible.
Swaraj invited significant participation from Mauritius in the forthcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), 2017. She said India would be sending a delegation this month to examine whether it can use the Girmtiya records for giving Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards.