The meeting took place at the request of the Taliban, the MEA said in a statement. This is the first official direct engagement between India and the Taliban. The meeting took place at the Indian Embassy in Doha.
Discussions focused on the security, safety and early return of trapped Indian citizens to Afghanistan. The trips of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit India were also presented.
The Ambassador of India, Deepak Mittal, expressed concern that Afghan soil was being used for counter-terrorism activities and India. Stanekzai assured that the concerns would be positively addressed.
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The meeting is significant as India remained on the sidelines of the troika plus dialogues on Afghanistan in which the US, Russia, China and Pakistan participated.
However, India had attended a regional conference on the Afghan situation in Doha earlier this month.
In September last year, an Indian delegation attended the opening ceremony of intra-Afghan negotiations with various stakeholders, including the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha. Foreign Minister Jaishankar had joined in a video conference.
The meeting between Mittal and Stanekzai took place hours after the U.S. completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, ending its 20-year military campaign in the country.
On Saturday, Stanekzai, in a clear opening, described India as an important country in the region and said the Taliban want to maintain Afghanistan’s trade, economic and political relations with it.
“We attach great importance to our trade, economic and political relations with India and we want to maintain that relationship,” he had said.
(With agency contributions)
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