INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS TOPICS

INDIA-AFGHANISTAN RELATIONS

India has been a major development partner of Afghanistan and has been favouring an Afghan-led and
Afghan owned peace process for the war-ravaged country. India favours cooperation among countries
of the region for peace, stability and development in Afghanistan.
India and Afghanistan’s friendship is said to be ―antiquated and bound by a thousand ties.‖
POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC RELATIONS
1. India-Afghanistan relations have been strengthened by the Strategic Partnership Agreement,
which was signed between the two countries in October 2011.
1. The Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) between the two sides, inter alia, provides for
assistance to help rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure and institutions, education and technical
assistance to re-build indigenous Afghan capacity in different areas, encouraging investment in
Afghanistan's natural resources, providing duty free access to the Indian market for Afghanistan's
exports support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, broad-based and inclusive process of peace and
reconciliation, and advocating the need for a sustained and long-term commitment to Afghanistan
by the international community.
2. Both countries decided to conduct the second Strategic Partnership Council meeting headed by
the Foreign Ministers of the both countries in the first quarter of 2016 along with four joint working
group meetings.
3. The second Strategic Partnership Council meeting was held in New Delhi on September 11, 2017.
Making use of the fresh US$ 1Billion announced by Prime Minister, India and Afghanistan launched
a New Development Partnership.
4. India is partnering with Iran to build the Chahabar port so that India can gain direct connectivity to
Afghanistan which is denied due to lack of support from Pakistan.
ECONOMIC RELATIONS
Trade
1. The bilateral trade at for the year 2016-17
was USD 800 million approx and has
immense potential to be expanded further.
2. The potential has not been realised as
Pakistan does not allow trade between
India and Afghanistan through the land
route-
1) Pakistan and Afghanistan have in 2010
signed a bilateral Afghanistan-
Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement
(APTTA).
2) But the APTTA does not allow for
bilateral trade with India.
3) Afghan goods can unload at Wagah for
Indian destinations, but cannot take Indian goods back to Afghanistan.

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4) Pakistan’s contention is that this would fuel a black market of Indian goods in Pakistan as the
goods may find their way through black channels back into Pakistan. India is still negotiating to
be the part of the agreement.
3. India is therefore also exploring other options to connect to Afghanistan via the Chahabahar port in
Iran. India is therefore building Zaranj-Delaram road in Afghanistan to boost bilateral economic
relations through an alternative route.
4. Apart from the sea-land combine through Iran India has also explored the air route for boosting
trade.
5. The inauguration of the Dedicated Air Cargo Corridor in June 2017 between Kabul-Delhi and
Kandahar-Delhi has provided a fresh impetus to bilateral trade.
6. During the Strategic Partnership Council meeting it was decided to further strengthen the corridor
and expand it to other cities in India. Over 1000 Tonnes of cargo has already been transported in
the Air Corridor since its inauguration.
7. On 28 September 2017, Dr. Abdullah inaugurated the India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment
Show.
8. It provided a valuable platform to showcase trade and investment opportunities in Afghanistan. The
show generated business worth US$ 250 million and enhanced the B2B linkages between India
and Afghanistan.
9. The show brought forward the immense potential in the bilateral trade and further strengthened the
commercial relations between India and Afghanistan.
The TIR Convention
10. Joint Working Group (JWG) on Trade, Commerce and facilitates trade and
Investment- was constituted between India and Afghanistan, at international road transport
the level of Commerce Secretary, which was instituted under the by permitting customs-
Strategic Partnership Agreement. It holds extensive discussions sealed vehicles and
on a variety of issues concerning bilateral trade and economic containers to transit nations
relations, including transit of goods, business visas, trade in without them being
pharmaceutical products and rough gemstones, air freight generally inspected at
corridor, customs cooperation etc. border crossings.
11. United Nations TIR Convention- - India has joined the TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers or
International Road Transport) Convention to boost trade between India and Afghanistan through
Pakistan.
ECONOMIC AID AND INVESTMENTS
1. India has till now invested around 3 billion USD in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. India still
continues to invest through various means.
2. In December 2016 India inaugurated the newly built Afghan Parliament which was constructed at
a cost of USD 90 million.
3. In continuation of India’s development assistance Government of India approved the 3rd phase of
Small Development Projects comprising of 92 projects.
4. On 4 June 2016, Prime Minister along with President Ghani jointly inaugurated the Afghan-India
Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam. 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.
5. In August 2016, Prime Minister jointly inaugurated through video conferencing the restored Stor
Palace in Kabul.

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6. India has also agreed to implement some important new projects such as the Shahtoot Dam and
drinking water project for Kabul that would also facilitate irrigation, water supply for Charikar City,
road connectivity to Band-e-Amir in Bamyan Province that would promote tourism, low cost housing
for returning Afghan refugees in Nangarhar Province to promote their resettlement, a gypsum board
manufacturing plant in Kabul to promote value added local industry and for import substitution, and
a polyclinic in Mazar-e-Sharif.
7. In addition, India will also take up 116 High Impact Community Development Projects in 31
provinces of Afghanistan. These important investments will be in the areas of education, health,
agriculture, irrigation, drinking water, renewable energy, flood control, micro-hydro power, sports
and administrative infrastructure.
SECURITY AND MILITARY COOPERATION
1. Afghanistan is seeking greater role for India in providing police and military training and even sale of
military equipments for strengthening its security architecture.
2. India has been providing training of Afghan National Army (ANA). The training includes counter-
terrorism operations, military field craft, intelligence, counter-improvised explosive devices (IEDs),
information technology, battle-field nursing assistance.
3. Afghan personnel are also being attached to the Infantry School at Mhow, Artillery School at Devlali
and Mechanised Infantry Regimental Centre at Ahmed Nagar for specialized courses.
4. India has gifted four Mi-25 Attack helicopters to the Afghan Air Force.
5. India and Afghanistan signed an agreement in the area of Police Training to further expand the
areas of cooperation.
6. Afghanistan army also wants New Delhi to set up a military training facility for its officers and
soldiers in Afghanistan and send a training team for the purpose, which has been denied by the
New Delhi as India does not want its foot soldiers' presence there.
7. When the former Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited India in 2013 he had presented a big wish
list of arms and ammunition it wants India to supply them. The list included demands for of T-72
battle tanks, 105 mm howitzers, AN-32 transport aircraft and Mi-17 helicopters along with bridge-
laying equipment and trucks. India has still not agreed for direct sale of military equipment to
Afghanistan.
8. In 2014 India and Russia signed a pact wherein India has agreed to pay for military equipment
sourced from Russia to Afghanistan and smaller arms such as light artillery and mortars will be
sourced from Russia and moved to Afghanistan.
OTHER AREAS OF COOPERATION
Apart from security and economic cooperation India and Afghanistan have signed agreements on
various other diverse fields as well. They include-
1. An Agreement on Exemption from Visa Requirement for Holders of Diplomatic Passports.
2. In September 2016 India and Afghanistan signed the Extradition Treaty, the Agreement on
cooperation in civil and commercial matters and the Memorandum of Understanding on
Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
3. In 2017, three major documents were exchanged between the two nations-
1) Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular
Traffic;

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2) Memorandum of Understanding between the National Medicine and Healthcare Products
Regulatory Authority of Afghanistan and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization
(CDSCO) for mutual cooperation in the field of pharmaceutical products regulation;
3) The Orbit Frequency Coordination Agreement between India and Afghanistan on South Asia
Satellite (SAS).
CAPACITY BUILDING
1. India has announced additional USD 1 billion assistance which apart from investment in
infrastructure also includes for capability building in spheres such as education, health, agriculture,
skill development, women’s empowerment, and strengthening of democratic institutions of
Afghanistan.
2. India has also announced that on-going programmes for education, capacity building, skills and
human resource development of Afghanistan, one of the largest such programmes in the world, will
continue for a further period of five years from 2017 to 2022.
USA’s new South Asia Policy and India-
1. The USA has changed its Afghanistan policy from Af-Pak to Af-Pak-India. Under the new strategy
(New US South Asia policy)-
1) It has now re-hyphenated India in the stabilisation of Afghanistan.
2) USA has declared that ―…we want them (India) to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in
the area of economic assistance and development‖.
3) The policy also focuses on the deployment of additional US troops soldiers to train and buttress
Afghan forces with gradual pull out plans at appropriate period and not a hasty withdrawal of the
forces. This is also beneficial for India as India feared that the complete withdrawal would create
opportunities for the Taliban to again gain strongholds in Afghanistan inimical to Indian interests.
4) The policy also talks about ensuring that Pakistan abides by its commitments. Now Pakistan will
be watched closely by the US to keep check that it does not become safe havens for terrorist
organizations.
5) Afghanistan has also wholeheartedly embraced this strategy, with Afghan President terming it a
game-changer‖ for the region.
Trump’s policy is a remarkable turnaround for Washington which had earlier wanted to keep India out of
its ―Af-Pak‖ policy for long. India was viewed as part of the problem and now Trump is arguing that India
should be viewed as part of a solution to the Afghan imbroglio. It is now for New Delhi to effectively
leverage the positive trend in America’s South Asia policy—not only for its own security interests but
also for the economic reconstruction and internal stability and security of Afghanistan.
HEART OF ASIA ISTANBUL PROCESS
The Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process was established to provide a platform to discuss regional issues,
particularly encouraging security, political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its
neighbours. This region-led dialogue was launched in November 2011 to expand practical coordination
between Afghanistan and its neighbours and regional partners in facing common threats,
including counterterrorism, counternarcotics, poverty, and extremism.
The Heart of Asia Process has been lead by two co-chairs: Afghanistan as a permanent co-chair, and
one of the Heart of Asia countries hosting the annual ministerial meeting as the co-chair.
There are more than 20 supporting countries and few supporting organizations like UN, SAARC etc.

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Three pillars of this conference process-
1. Political Consultations: Political consultation involving Afghanistan and its near and extended
neighbours
2. Confidence Building Measures (CBMs): Areas for CBMs identified in the Istanbul Process
document are Disaster management, Counter-terrorism, Counter-narcotics, Trade, Commerce and
Investment, Regional infrastructure, and Education.
3. Cooperation with Regional Organizations- for improving security and economic reconstruction of
Afghanistan.
The 6th Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia summit was held in Amritsar, India in December 2016.
Amritsar Declaration-
1. For the first time, a Heart of Asia Declaration expressed concern at the violence caused in
Afghanistan and the region by terrorist groups like al-Qaida, Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-
Muhammed.
2. There was concern raised regarding the security situation arising out of the high level of violence
caused by the Taliban, terrorist groups including ISIL / DAISH and its affiliates, the Haqqani
Network, Al Qaida etc.
3. It declared the dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens in the Heart of Asia region, as
well as disrupting all financial, tactical and logistical support for terrorism.
4. The Declaration also calls for early finalisation of the draft Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism.
5. This declaration also reaffirms commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
reiterates the importance of increased political dialogue and consultations between countries of the
Heart of Asia region for a stable, peaceful and prosperous region.
6. The President of Afghanistan gave a stern message to Pakistan. It not only refused to accept a
$500 million aid but told Pakistan that it should use this money against its own terror outfits.
China and Afghanistan w.r.t. India
1. China has also been very much aloof from Afghanistan post-Taliban reconstruction in terms of
foreign aid or military assistance to the country.
2. But recently China has increased its interests in Afghanistan. The possible reasons could be-
1) China has its own security and economic interests in Afghanistan. Under any circumstances,
Beijing does not want Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for Uighur Muslim militant groups
who are very active in China’s Xinjiang province.
2) Beijing is also worried about insecurity in Afghanistan casting a destabilising shadow
over Pakistan and other Central Asian republics where Xi Jinping’s grand geopolitical project –
the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – is rewriting the rules of balance of power for a China-
centric world order.
3. In the last few years it has rapidly changed its Afghan investment policy. It is fast seizing up a
substantial share of Afghanistan's natural resources with its companies winning a joint bid worth
$3.5 billion meant to develop Res Anyak copper field – touted to be world’s largest undeveloped
copper field. It has now become the largest ever FDI in the history of Afghanistan.
4. Earlier China’s security concerns regarding safe passage in Afghanistan had led to its exclusion
from the New Silk Route map which bypasses Afghanistan and enters Iran through Kyrgyzstan,

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Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. But now China and Pakistan are looking to include
Afghanistan in their billion dollar economic corridor, as part of Beijing's Belt and Road initiative.
5. The economic corridor is expected to benefit the whole region and act as an impulse for further
development. Afghanistan also wants that the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic corridor- which is
part of BRI) should be extended to Afghanistan as well. But India is opposed to the CPEC on
sovereignty grounds as it passes through the Indian territory occupied by Pakistan.
6. On the other hand Afghanistan’s strategic interests in China lies in the considerable leverage
enjoyed by Beijing in deciding Islamabad’s global policy and its ability to pressurize Pakistan into
taking coordinated measures to get rid of the safe haven Taliban finds in Pakistan. That is why
Afghan President Ghani made Beijing his first international visit even before touring Pakistan and
India.
7. Recently there has been some convergence between India and China with respect to Afghanistan.
Both have agreed to work jointly on an economic project the details of which are being worked out
through diplomatic channels. Joint projects would be beneficial for New Delhi both economically
and strategically.
8. Indian consortium has won the bid for Hajigak iron ore reserve which is very near to the Anyak
copper field bid by China. China and India could collaborate together for the safe transportation of
the ores from their mining sites to Chabahar in Iran, via a road link that had already been
established by India to the Indian ocean port.
Russia and India wrt Afghanistan
1. Russia hosted peace conference on Afghanistan to discuss ways of ending conflict in Afghanistan
and establish durable peace. Moscow invited Iran, Pakistan, India, China and five Central Asian
States. Russia now believes the Taliban is a ―legitimate stakeholder‖ in the conflict that must be
engaged, and is the ―lesser evil‖ than Islamic State/Da’esh forces in Afghanistan.
2. India on the other hand does not want Taliban to come back to power in Afghanistan.
3. Russia is sensitive to Indian concerns as well. In 2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin's special
envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov visited India to discuss the Afghan security situation.