New Delhi, Mar 9 (Agency) India on Tuesday announced the supply of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat assistance to Afghanistan in partnership with the UN World Food Programme through Iran’s Chabahar Port.This was announced at the first meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Afghanistan held in New Delhi today, with participation by Special Envoys/Senior officials of the five Central Asian countries.The wheat assistance announced today is in addition to the 50,000 MT wheat assistance that India has provided to Afghanistan last year, which was sent via road through Pakistan, in association with the UNWFP.
The meeting today was attended by the Special Envoys/Senior Officials of India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Country representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) also participated in the meeting, a statement said.During the meeting, the Special Envoys/Senior Officials:Exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan, including the political, security and the humanitarian situation. While emphasizing the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs, the sides reiterated support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan.They also emphasized the importance of formation of a truly inclusive and representative political structure that respects the rights of all Afghans and ensures equal rights of women, girls and members of minority groups, including access to education.
The officials discussed regional threats of terrorism, extremism, radicalization and drug trafficking and also deliberated on the possibilities to coordinate efforts to counter these threats.They emphasized that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist acts and reaffirmed that no terrorist organizations including those designated by the UNSC resolution 1267 should be provided sanctuary or allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan.The country representative of the UNWFP in Afghanistan briefed the participants on the India-UNWFP partnership to deliver foodgrain assistance to Afghan people and made a presentation on the current humanitarian situation, including the aid requirements for the year ahead.India announced supply of 20,000 MTs of wheat assistance to Afghanistan in partnership with UNWFP through Chabahar Port.
The sides took note of the current humanitarian situation and agreed to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.Country representative of the UNODC in Afghanistan highlighted the partnership of India and UNODC in fighting the menace of narcotics in Afghanistan and thanked India for providing humanitarian aid for the Afghan drug user population.Upon their request, India offered capacity building training courses for the relevant stakeholders/partner agencies of UNODC and the relevant officials/stakeholders of Central Asian Republics in the field of countering illegal drug trafficking.The participants thanked India for holding the first Joint Working Group Meeting on Afghanistan at Senior Officials Meeting level in New Delhi and agreed to continue consultations in this format on regular basis, the statement added.