India promises completion of Salma dam

KABUL): India’s newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh called on President Hamid Karzai at his office in Kabul on Saturday evening, a day after Afghan Vice-President Karim Khalili returned from a three-day visit to New Delhi.

She conveyed best wishes from the Indian prime minister and foreign minister to President Karzai, expressing her pleasure over hosting Karim Khalili, according to a statement from the Presidential Palace.  
India had voiced its willingness to equip and train Afghan security forces, Khalili said on his return from Delhi. During his meetings with host leaders, the security and economic situation in the region and bilateral military cooperation came up for discussion, the vice-president added.
Khalili discussed with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh security issues, trade links and other issues of bilateral interest. He also met President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President M. Hamid Ansari, as well as External, assuring Karzai her country remained pledged to constructing the parliament building in Kabul and the Salma Dam in Herat.
For his part, the president said Afghanistan-India relations as strong and multifaceted, saying people-to-people contacts were equally cordial. The two nations had shared interests and faced common threats, he added.
Karzai praised the Indian government’s scholarships for Afghan students and assistance to the war-torn country in different areas. He hoped Delhi would continue to cooperate with the ally.
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