The Ministry of External Affairs on 16 March made it clear that there has been no change in the government’s position on not recognising the Taliban setup in Afghanistan.
This following development arrived after reports of a foreign policy institution in Kabul asking officials to participate in an online course under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
EAM spokesperson Arindam Bagchi even dismissed the possibility of the Indian side sending such official correspondence to “entities that are not recognised”.
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“India has been extending capacity-building assistance to developing countries across the world through what is called the ITEC programme. This includes online courses,” he told a regular media briefing.
However, he said that numerous Afghan nationals, both based in India as well as in Afghanistan, have been participating in these ITEC courses and the online courses do not involve travel to India.
“Our position on how we see developments in Afghanistan has not changed. I do not think anything should be read into ITEC courses vis-a-vis that. We certainly would not be issuing note verbales, which are inter-governmental notes, to entities that are not recognised,” he said.
Earlier, in June 2022, India re-established a diplomatic presence in Kabul by reopening its embassy. Though India is yet to decide on resuming support for development projects across Afghanistan.
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