Afghanistan on agenda during Blinken’s visit to India

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with leaders of India next week to discuss support for Afghanistan as the withdrawal of U.S. forces nears completion and concern grows over the country’s stability.

Blinken will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on July 28, the State Department said on July 23.

Blinken will be seeking India’s support in stabilizing Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal is completed at the end of August, said Dean Thompson, the top U.S. diplomat for South Asia.

“We expect that all the countries in the region have a shared interest in a stable and secure Afghanistan going forward, and so we will certainly be looking at talking with our Indian partners about how we can work together to realize that goal,” Thompson said in a conference call with reporters.

The United States and India have been building closer relations since the late 1990s as the world’s two largest democracies see shared interests on the rise of China, Islamist extremism, and other challenges.

Meanwhile, the US  has carried out airstrikes across Afghanistan in the last several days as part of an effort to support the Afghan security forces fighting Taliban insurgents, the Pentagon has said.

Blinken’s agenda also includes Indo-Pacific engagement, shared democratic values, climate change, and the response to the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said.

India earlier this year, through its Serum Institute had entered into an agreement with the UN’s COVAX campaign to supply one billion doses of the AstraZeneca-Covishield vaccines to the world. However, that supply had to be postponed  as India found itself battling a second far more virulent wave of the Coronavirus. India had also gifted millions of dozes of critically needed vaccines to neighbouring and friendly countries, including to Afghanistan in their fight against Coronavirus.

During his visit Blinken also will be looking to set up a meeting of the leaders of the so-called Quad, a grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States that is seen as a counter to China’s rising influence.

President Joe Biden earlier this year hosted a virtual Quad summit focused on the pandemic and threats posed by China but is hoping to arrange an in-person meeting by the end of the year.

Blinken will travel to Kuwait after his stop in India. Kuwait is one of the countries being considered to host thousands of Afghans who helped U.S. forces during the war and now are in the process of immigrating to the United States. Kuwait would be a place they could wait while the United States processes their visa applications.

Meanwhile, the US  has carried out airstrikes across Afghanistan in the last several days as part of an effort to support the Afghan security forces fighting Taliban insurgents, the Pentagon has said.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s top peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah is on a private visit to India met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday on the overall situation in Afghanistan amid a rise in violence there.

A day ahead of Jaishankar-Abdullah meeting, External affairs ministry’s spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said that India supports the government and the people of Afghanistan in realising their aspirations for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future that protects the interest of all sections.