International
Karzai keen on Indian expertise
By Amit Baruah
TOKYO, JAN. 21. The Disinvestment Minister, Arun Shourie, today called on the Afghan interim administration chairman, Hamid Karzai, to discuss matters of bilateral interest.
India and the new administration in Kabul have kept up their contact on the sidelines of the Afghanistan aid conference with India's Special Envoy, S.K. Lambah, holding talks with the interim Afghan Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, last night.
Mr. Shourie also called on the U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, today and discussed matters relating to Afghanistan. Mr. Annan is scheduled to go to Afghanistan from Tokyo.
Mr. Shourie told reporters that Mr. Karzai was pleased to know that 20 Afghan diplomats would begin a training course in New Delhi on February 13. The course, he said, was designed specially for them.
Mr. Karzai expressed a desire to visit India at an early date, pointing out that he would be travelling to the U.S. later this month. The dates for his visit to India are to be fixed through diplomatic channels.
Mr. Karzai, who had received much attention at the aid conference, was keen on visiting Shimla, where he did his college education, Mr. Shourie said. Referring to India's strengths in management and technical training institutes, Mr. Karzai hoped that such expertise could be made available to Afghanistan. Mr. Shourie informed Mr. Karzai that an Indian Ambassador would shortly be in place in Kabul.
Mr. Karzai was also keen on the resumption of civil aviation links between India and Afghanistan. Mr. Lambah, who was present at the press briefing, said the aviation links could resume in the next few weeks.
Earlier in his statement on the Afghan reconstruction conference, Mr. Shourie said the process of broad-basing Afghan Government must be consolidated, the country must be free of outside interference, the Taliban and Taliban-type elements must have no part in governance, the country must be rid of terrorism and women and minorities must receive special attention.
``As part of its international responsibilities,
especially in view of its historical ties of friendship and cooperation with Afghanistan and the Afghan people, India is committed to making a substantial contribution to assist the new Afghan Government. We are also committed to unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan,'' the statement said.
``India, Afghanistan and the people of the two countries have had a long-standing record of technical and economic cooperation in various fields.'' Before 1979, Afghanistan was the largest partner in India's technical and economic cooperation programme.
``The areas of cooperation covered construction of dams, agriculture, hospitals, archaeology and other fields. We continued extending humanitarian relief even during the phase when the Taliban militia had taken over various parts of the country,'' Mr. Shourie said.
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