India cuts aid to Afghanistan by 50%

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): ndian Foreign Ministry has allocated more than Rs 5,000 crore of its Rs 20,516 crore budget to help foreign countries, media reported.

 

Of these, Rs 100 crore or Rs 1 billion has been allocated to Afghanistan, down 50 percent from last year.

 

The budget was announced at Rs 200 crore earlier last year and was reduced to Rs 50 crore after evaluation.

 

"Aid allocated to Afghanistan has been cut by half," the Financial Express newspaper reported. The aid, which was Rs 200 crore last year, has been reduced to Rs 100 crore this year. This is a significant decrease from the previous year's 207 crore. India is cautious in dealing with the Islamic Emirate. However, he has provided humanitarian aid to the country and promoted economic cooperation alongside Iran's Chabahar port.

 

India's largest foreign aid is Rs 2,150 crore to Bhutan, Rs 120 crore to Bangladesh, Rs 700 crore to Nepal, Rs 350 crore to Myanmar, Rs 600 crore to Maldives, Rs 300 crore to Sri Lanka, Rs 170 crore to South Asian countries and Rs 100 crore to improve Chahar port.

 

According to reports, India’s foreign aid will be spent on infrastructure and capacity-building projects in countries, including power generation projects and economic cooperation.

 

"If this money is spent on building factories and creating jobs for the people, many of the people's economic problems will be solved forever," said Mohammad Younis Zadran, an economic analyst, according to Shamshad News. People will have jobs and a steady income.”

 

"A meeting should be held with India to see their interest in what areas they want to invest in," said Sayed Massoud, an economic expert. I think they attach great importance to education and health, and if they support these two areas, it will make a big difference.”

 

India has recently shown interest in boosting relations with Afghanistan after a three-year hiatus.

 

The Indian financial assistance to Afghanistan comes as Indian Deputy Foreign Minister Vikram Misri met with Maulavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate, in the United Arab Emirates last month and discussed bilateral relations on the development of trade through Chabahar port and support for development projects in Afghanistan as well as humanitarian projects in Afghanistan.