India supplied the next batch of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan  |  Photo Credit: Twitter
Key Highlights
- Another batch of additional 5,00,000 doses would be supplied in the coming weeks.
- India has committed to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people consisting of foodgrains, one million doses of Covid vaccine and essential life saving drugs.
New Delhi: India supplied 5,00,000 doses of the Covaxin vaccine to Afghanistan on Saturday. This was the second tranche of humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged nation country after its takeover by the Taliban.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the consignment of vaccine doses was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul.
Another batch of additional 5,00,000 doses of the vaccine would be supplied to Afghanistan in the coming weeks.
In the coming weeks, we would be undertaking the supply of wheat and the remaining medical assistance. In this regard, we are in touch with UN agencies and others for finalising the modalities for transportation, it said.
India has already announced that it will send 50,000 tonnes of wheat and medicines to Afghanistan by road transport through Pakistan. Islamabad and New Delhi are finalising the modalities for transportation of the consignments now.
Reacting to this, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay thanked India.
“Thank you, India for providing Afghan people lifesaving gift on the first day of 2022! I hope this year would be peaceful & prosperous for all Afghans,” he tweeted.
While India has not recognised the new regime in Afghanistan it has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul.
It has also insisted that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.
Concerned over the situation in Afghanistan, India had hosted a regional dialogue on Afghanistan on November 10 with NSAs of Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in attendance.
During the meet, all the participating countries vowed to work towards ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for global terrorism and called for the formation of an “open and truly inclusive” government in Kabul with representation from all sections of Afghan society.