During Mr Muttaqi’s visit to New Delhi, both sides issued a joint statement emphasising “the importance of sustainable water management” and interest in “cooperat(ing) on hydroelectric projects to address Afghanistan’s energy needs and support its agricultural development”.
Later, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal further noted that there is a “long history of cooperation on water matters” between the two countries. His remarks effectively indicate a new phase of pragmatic engagement that will help India to secure its interests in the country.
He also reiterated that New Delhi was prepared to support all Taliban initiatives related to water resource management, including hydropower projects. By doing so, India aims to maintain political, economic and strategic ties with a country where its presence had significantly diminished following the US withdrawal in 2021.
New Delhi’s stance builds on a history of water-related cooperation with Afghanistan, most notably the Salma Dam, also known as the India–Afghanistan Friendship Dam, on the Hari River in Herat province. Completed in 2016 with around US$300 million in Indian funding, the dam generates 42MW of electricity and irrigates about 75,000 hectares of farmland.
The project, while symbolising friendship, has also been a target of political and militant hostility: in 2017, Taliban militants attacked the hydropower dam, killing ten Afghan soldiers. Ironically, the same group now seeks India’s technical and financial assistance to replicate similar projects, reflecting the shifting pragmatism on both sides.
Source: CNA
