India committed to development of Afghanistan

NEW DELHI: India has said it is committed to the development and reconstruction of war-ravaged Afghanistan at the International Donors' Conference in Paris.

Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma expressed the hope that the conference would buttress the implementation of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).

"India supports the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process to propel the country on its path of stability, security and prosperity," he said addressing the conference yesterday.

Sharma underlined India's expanding partnership with Afghanistan which consists of multi-dimensional cooperation programmes in all parts of Afghanistan covering virtually all sectors ranging from infrastructure to medical services and community-based small sectors.

The conference brought together top representatives of 67 countries and 17 international organisations including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, US First Lady Laura Bush, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

Ahead of the meet, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his country will require at least $50 billion in assistance to help in reconstruction efforts.

India already has given assistance worth 750 million dollars to Afghanistan and has expressed readiness to contribute more.

India's sustained engagement in reconstruction efforts was acknowledged by Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dafdar Spanta.