Will back legitimate government chosen through democratic path: PM Modi to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday late evening for a bilateral meet on the sidelines of SCO Summit held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

During the meet, India assured the Afghans that it will fulfil all the expectations of Afghanistan and Kabul in the path of "legitimate government chosen through democratic path".

In the bilateral meet that lasted for more than 30 minutes, PM Modi said neighbours can work together and gave the example of India-Bangladesh ties.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said, "The two sides exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and the role played by India towards an inclusive Afghanistan."

The Afghan president shared his views on the current situation in his country and how both New Delhi and Kabul should see drugs and terror together since the former fuels the latter.

He also shared his views on "sincerity of Pakistan" on action taken on terror group on its territory which has been a common cause of concern for both the countries. 

New Delhi has been Afghanistan's biggest backer in the region. India through its community development scheme since 2005 has supported over 550 projects throughout Afghanistan. Of these, around 345 projects have been completed while the remaining are in various stages of completion. 

India is the largest donor to Afghanistan in the region and since 2001 after the fall of the Taliban, the country has undertaken projects and programmes of over $2 billion.