India to reopen Embassy in Kabul after four-year hiatus amid new Taliban ties

India has announced that it is upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a full-fledged Embassy, cementing its first high-level diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan’s Taliban administration since the group seized power in 2021 after the United States withdrawal and fall of the previous government.

- (Al Jazeera)

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday revealed the decision following talks with his Afghan counterpart in New Delhi.

“Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilience,” Jaishanker noted, addressing Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttagi at a joint news briefing.

Jaishankar said India was “fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan”. He thanked Muttagi for his “invitation to Indian companies to explore mining opportunities in Afghanistan”.

The move reopens the Embassy that was closed in 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces. India had since maintained a limited mission to oversee trade, medical, and humanitarian efforts.

In his remarks, Muttaqi said Kabul “has always sought good relations with India”. He also referred to ongoing counterterrorism efforts and said the Taliban administration would not allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s territory for targeting other nations.