President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani congratulated India and the other nations benefitting from the launch of the South Asia satellite.

Afghan Voice Agency(AVA), The Office of the President, ARG Palace, said President Ghani participated in the ceremony of the launch of the satellite through Video Teleconference.

He said the launch of the satellite is a major step for regional cooperation.

The satellite, GSAT-9, was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday from Sriharikota space centre.

Funded entirely by India, countries like Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan will benefit from the satellite.

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists on the launch of the satellite.

In a Twitter post, Prime Minister Modi said he was “very proud of them.”

Built over a period of three years, the satellite was launched by the reliable Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) of India.

Prime Minister Modi had asked ISRO scientists to develop a SAARC Satellite that could be dedicated to neighbouring countries as a “gift from India” after coming to power in 2014.

However, the name of the satellite was renamed after Pakistan opted out of the programme.