'Gift of life': India and Afghanistan sign MoU for construction of Shahtoot Dam near Kabul

India and Afghanistan on February 9 signed an agreement to build the Shahtoot Dam in Kabul in order to provide drinking water facility in the Afghan capital. During a virtual summit, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and his Afghan counterpart Mohammed Haneef Atmar signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ghani thanked PM Modi for the "gift of life" through the signing of an agreement on Shatoot Dam.

Speaking at the virtual summit, Afghan President said, “With Shahtoot reservoir, we will be able to implement our vision of restoring natural beauty that captivated the imagination of Babur. I thank India and Prime Minister Modi for offering this gift of water, in addition to the gift of vaccines.”

“This is the moment for regional consensus and international consensus. For a guarantee of a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. We must ask the world and all stakeholders to respect the rules and sovereignty and international relations. Stop giving sanctuaries and stop interfering in the affairs of their neighbours,” he added. 

Ghani also lauded India for providing attention to Afghanistan and giving a “gift of life to Kabul and the people of Afghanistan symbolise the value of decency, democracy, humanity, mutual interest, mutual respect, mutual trust and our interdependent world”. The Shahtoot Dam that will be constructed on the Kabul river basin would help provide drinking water to residents of the city of two million. India has announced at least 150 projects in the war-stricken country and it has pledged to rebuild Afghanistan committing to $80 million worth of projects. 

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PM Modi underlines ‘civilisational connect’

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said that PM Modi highlighted the “civilisational connect”  between India and Afghanistan and assured Ghani of India’s “long term commitment” for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan. Prime Minister also said that “no outside force” will be able to hinder Afghanistan’s journey towards development as well its relations with India. PM Modi said, “We are concerned over increasing violence in Afghanistan....we support a comprehensive ceasefire in the country”. Further, PM Modi also noted that a “united Afghanistan” will be able to deal with any challenge while referring to the Afghan peace process.

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