India-Afghanistan Relations
A Complex and Strategic Partnership
India and Afghanistan share deep civilisational, cultural, and economic ties spanning centuries. India has been one of Afghanistan's largest regional development partners, investing over USD 3 billion in infrastructure since 2001 — including the Afghan Parliament building, the Salma Dam (Friendship Dam), the Delaram-Zaranj Highway, schools, hospitals, and power transmission lines. The Taliban takeover in August 2021 disrupted this engagement: India closed its embassy and consulates, and suspended formal diplomatic ties.
However, India has adopted a policy of "engage but do not endorse" — maintaining people-to-people contact and humanitarian supply lines while withholding formal recognition of the Taliban government. India became the first major democracy to announce the reopening of its Kabul embassy in October 2025, signalling a calibrated diplomatic reset driven by strategic and connectivity interests.
- India is the largest regional donor to Afghanistan and 5th-largest globally.
- Key Indian-funded projects: Salma Dam (42 MW, Herat), Delaram-Zaranj Highway (218 km, connecting Afghanistan to Iran), Afghan Parliament (Kabul), Shahtoot Dam (under construction).
- India–Afghanistan trade was approximately USD 1.5 billion annually before 2021; trade has revived cautiously since 2022 via air routes.
- Afghanistan is critical to India's Central Asia connectivity strategy — access to Central Asian markets through Afghanistan and Iran's Chabahar port is a key Indian interest.
- India has sent multiple rounds of humanitarian aid: 500,000 COVID vaccines (2022), wheat (50 trucks, 2022), earthquake relief (2022, 2023, 2026).
● Tracked since March 20, 2026 · last seen April 05, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes