How India is Helping Rebuild Afghanistan

India and Afghanistan have agreed to launch a New Development Partnership through which the countries will jointly implement 116 “high impact” development projects across Afghanistan.

  • India will aid Afghanistan in infrastructural projects such as constructing dams, roads, and power transmission lines, among other things. These projects will not only be in the Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, but also in 31 provinces across the country.
  • India and Afghanistan signed a Motor Vehicles Agreement for the regulation of passenger, personal and cargo vehicular traffic, which would provide the necessary infrastructure for much-needed overland transit. India will also help build affordable housing for refugees.
  • Along with Afghanistan’s Water Department, India will help in constructing the Shahtoot dam.
  • Apart from dams, India will help in building a strong water supply network for Charikar city.
  • India is helping Afghanistan construct a 218-km long road from Zaranj to Delaram in order to facilitate movement of goods and services to the Iranian border. This will help Afghanistan engage in international trade and develop its own economy.
  • The construction of a 220kV DC transmission line and a 220/110/20 kV sub-station at Chimtala will also be done with India’s help.
  • India will assist in upgrading telephone exchanges in 11 of Afghanistan’s provinces and expanding its national TV network. This will be done by providing an uplink from Kabul and downlinks in all 34 provincial capitals for greater integration of the country.

Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA)

India and Afghanistan signed an “Agreement on strategic partnership” between the two countries in October, 2011.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.

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