and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, both the countries decided to work on mutual understanding and long term interest.
This partnership envisages elevation of multifaceted ties to a higher level both in the bilateral field and in the international arena. The strategic partnership will be implemented under the framework of a partnership council. The council will be headed by the foreign Ministers of both the countries and will meet annually.
Dr. Manmohan Singh also announced an additional developmental assistance of 500 million US dollars for existing and up-coming projects in Afghanistan. This takes the total development commitment to Afghanistan to 2 billion US dollars.
In the political sphere, the two sides agree to hold regular summit level meeting. In the area of economic and commerce, the two sides decided to enter into a strategic, economic partnership, recognising the advantages of closer economic integration with the South Asian market and the region. They agreed to explore greater cooperation in sectors such as mining, metallurgy, fuel and energy, information and technology and communication and transport. The two countries agreed on the importance of regional projects such as TapI in promoting regional integration.
President Karzai expressed gratitude to India for its commitment to Afghanistan reconstruction and development over the past 10 years.
The two sides also affirmed that their strategic partnership was not directed against any other state or group of states. Later talking to reporters in a Press Conference, Dr. Manmohan Singh said that all the countries of the region should unite to end the menace of terrorism and help rebuild Afghanistan. He also emphasized that proper training and infrastructure have to be to given to Afghan people. He said the fate of Afghanistan is to be decided by the Afghan people. Emphatically he mentioned India’s friendship with Afghanistan is not directed against Pakistan.