India’s investment in Afghanistan:
- India’s reconstruction and development assistance to Afghanistan has been over $2 billion
- A hospital in Kabul
- The country’s parliament building
- A 218 km road from Zaranj to Delaram for better connectivity from the Iranian border
- The 220kV DC transmission line from Pul-e-Khumri to Kabul
- Salma dam in Herath, also called the Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam
- Training Afghanistan’s policemen and civil servants
- Scholarships, cultural exchanges and goodwill gestures like food supply after earthquakes
- Bollywood movies and cricket are a big hit in Afghanistan
- Afghans view Indians as their friends
- More recently India has donated M-25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan which is seen as a policy shift as earlier India avoided any military support
Concerns:
- Taliban is still strong and its anti-Indian nature
- Strong interference of Pakistan in Afghan affairs
- Increased interest of China due to OBOR initiative and Afghanistan’s mineral resources
- Withdrawal of US forces