The United States will not limit any effort by India to offer capacity building and training in Afghanistan, according to Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
Responding to an observation that many in Pakistan, including General Ashfaq Kayani, had objected to India playing such a role, Mr. Blake said, the U.S. had “welcomed very much the assistance that India has provided and all of our cabinet-level officials have welcomed that and will continue to do so.”
He also stated that India had played a very important role with the $1.3 billion in assistance that they provided to date, mostly in infrastructure and other kinds of reconstruction projects, but certainly also in capacity building and training.
Mr. Blake added that India’s role was “a very important part of the international effort to help stabilise Afghanistan.”
