India Pledges Long-Term Pharmaceutical Support For Afghanistan
India has said it will meet Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical needs over the long term, signalling a move to reduce the country’s dependence on medicine imports from Pakistan.
India has said it will meet Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical needs over the long term, signalling a move to reduce the country’s dependence on medicine imports from Pakistan.
In a statement issued on Monday, a day after the conclusion of the visit by the Taliban’s health minister to New Delhi, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it would expand health cooperation with Afghanistan and continue humanitarian assistance.
The ministry also announced the establishment of a joint working group between the health ministries of India and Afghanistan to coordinate cooperation in the sector.
According to the statement, Noor Jalal Jalali, the Taliban’s minister of public health, met Kirti Vardhan Singh during his visit. The talks focused on health projects, the creation of cancer treatment centres in Afghanistan, the formation of the joint working group and the deployment of Indian doctors to support capacity-building programmes for Afghan physicians.
Jalali visited India from December 16 to 21 and toured at least 10 hospitals and pharmaceutical, health and food institutions. Indian officials offered what New Delhi described as positive assurances, reflecting efforts to deepen engagement with the Taliban administration at a time of strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad.
The visit followed recent trips to India by the Taliban’s foreign and commerce ministers, marking a noticeable increase in contacts over the past two months.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Jalali said medicines from Pakistan had previously accounted for 60 percent to 70 percent of Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical market. He said tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan had forced Kabul to seek alternative suppliers, adding that India had become one of Afghanistan’s main options for addressing shortages.
Jalali said the Taliban was seeking to open a “new chapter” of cooperation with India, particularly in the health sector.
The growing engagement comes amid heightened tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan, including repeated border clashes. During the dispute, Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, accused elements in Kabul of acting as proxy forces for India, an allegation made while Taliban and Pakistani delegations were holding talks in Istanbul to address border challenges.
