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Foreign Secy promises all help to war-torn Afghanistan
Ashok Tuteja/TNS

Meets Karzai, top leaders During her three-day visit, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh (pic) held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Vice Presidents Marshal Fahim and Karim Khalili, Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasool and her counterpart Ershad Ahmadi She assured the Afghan leadership that no terrorist attack would have an impact on India’s determination to assist the embattled nation in its reconstruction and development efforts She also paid a special visit to the Consulate General of India in Jalalabad that was recently targeted by a suicide bomb attack which was successfully thwarted by Afghan security forces

New Delhi, August 25
On a quiet visit to Afghanistan that concluded today, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh assured the Afghan leadership that no terrorist attack would have an impact on India’s determination to assist the embattled nation in its reconstruction and development efforts.

During her three-day visit, Sujatha held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Vice Presidents Marshal Fahim and Karim Khalili, Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasool and her counterpart Ershad Ahmadi.

Official sources said Sujatha was accompanied by officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, including Sanjiv Ranjan, Joint Secretary (Development Partnership Administration) and Rudrendra Tandon, Joint Secretary (Pakistan). She conducted a thorough review of India’s development programmes under way in Afghanistan with Ambassador Amar Sinha.

She also paid a special visit to the Consulate General of India in Jalalabad that was recently targeted by a suicide bomb attack which was successfully thwarted by Afghan security forces. Sources said Sujatha’s visit to Afghanistan was her solo trip abroad after assuming charge as the Foreign Secretary on August 1. She had recently accompanied National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon to Bhutan. During her meeting with President Karzai, Sujatha conveyed to him best wishes from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

She reiterated India's commitment to a long-term partnership with Afghanistan, assuring Karzai of New Delhi’s determination to complete the construction of the Parliament building in Kabul and the Salma Dam in Herat.

The Afghan President told her India and Afghanistan had shared interests and faced common threats. Karzai also praised the Indian government's scholarships for Afghan students and assistance to the war-torn country in different areas.