India and Afghanistan on Tuesday reviewed developments relating to the strategically important Chabahar port project in Iran where India is eyeing an investment to the tune of around Rs 2 lakh crore.
The issue figured prominently during a meeting between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Hekmat Karzai who is here to attend the Heart of Asia conference.
Chabahar port is located in Sistan-Balochistan Province on Iran’s southeastern coast and is of great strategic utility for India as it will get sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
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Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Karzai also discussed the situation in Afghanistan following the deadly terrorist attack in Kabul on April 19 and the response of the international community to the continuing violence in that country.
Sixty-four people were killed and hundreds wounded in the Taliban attack.
Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Karzai also deliberated on implementation of Salma Dam project as well as India’s various development assistance and support to Afghanistan.
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India has invested $2 billion in aid and reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and trained scores of Afghan officers.
The Salma dam project is being executed by India at a cost of over Rs 1400 crore across the Harirud river at Chist-e-Shariff in Herat province of Afghanistan. The project envisages generation of 42 MW of power, besides having the potential for irrigating 75,000 ha of land.