Prime Minister Modi & Afghanistan President to discuss Shahtoot dam project today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani are likely to discuss an agreement on Shahtoot dam in India-Afghanistan summit-level talks to be held on Tuesday, according to ANI reports. Shahtoot dam is expected to provide clean drinking water to at least two million citizens of Kabul which will also be used for irrigation.

India Anunces High-impact Projects for Afghanistan

In vember 2020, Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar had anunced at Geneva Dors Conference that India had concluded with Afghanistan an agreement for construction of Shatoot dam, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents of Kabul city. India had anunced a phase of nearly 150 high-impact community projects in Afghanistan worth USD 80 million (Rs 592 crore) as country's development portfolio in war-ravd nation had reached over USD 3 billion (Rs 22,200 crore).

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In December 2020, India at UN had said that international community should work towards removal of all artificial transit barriers imposed on Afghanistan, ensuring that all such rights are guaranteed to war-torn country under bilateral and multilateral agreements without any hindrance. India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Nagaraj Naidu, speaking in UN General Assembly in support of a resolution on Afghanistan, said it is important for Afghanistan to have access to high seas for a prosperous future. “ international community should work towards removal of all artificial transit barriers imposed on Afghanistan and ensure that all transit rights are guaranteed to Afghanistan under bilateral and multilateral transit agreements without any hindrance. We are glad to te that resolution before us calls upon states to do so,” Naidu had said. 

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(With ncy Inputs)