Indian diplomat meets Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Muttaqi, discusses trade, visas and more

Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary of the Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran (PAI) Division at India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), held talks with Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Kabul on a range of bilateral issues, including political relations, trade, transit, and regional developments.

During the meeting, Minister Muttaqi stressed the importance of expanding diplomatic and economic relations between Afghanistan and India.

He said that Afghanistan currently offers favourable opportunities for investment and encouraged Indian businesses and investors to capitalise on the improving conditions within the country, according to a social media post by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Deputy Spokesman, Hafiz Zia Ahmad.

Muttaqi also spoke about the need to facilitate greater movement of people between the two countries, calling for the normalisation of visa issuance— particularly for traders, patients seeking medical treatment, and students. He urged India to ease procedures to strengthen people-to-people ties.

Anand Prakash reaffirmed India’s commitment to maintaining and strengthening its ties with Afghanistan, whose government is not officially recognised by any country or world body and the United Nations refers to the administration as the “Taliban de facto authorities”.

Prakash expressed hope that relations would deepen across various fields and reiterated India’s willingness to continue its development cooperation. Prakash also conveyed India’s interest in investing in new infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, as well as restarting stalled initiatives.

Both sides agreed on the need to promote official exchanges, ease travel procedures, and enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors.

The meeting is a sign of a cautious but continuing engagement between New Delhi and Kabul, as India looks to preserve its historical ties with the Afghan people amid a vastly different political situation in Afghanistan.