India’s investments in Afghanistan

#GS-02 International Relations

For Prelims

India-Afghan Relations

SALMA DAM:

• It is a 42MW hydropower and irrigation dam located on the Hari River in Herat Province in Afghanistan.
• It was inaugurated in 2016 and the Afghan cabinet has renamed the Salma Dam as the Afghan–India Friendship Dam.

Zaranj-Delaram highway:

• It is a 218 km Highway built by India’s Border Roads Organisation.
• Zaranj is located close to Afghanistan’s border with Iran.
• With Pakistan denying India overland access for trade with Afghanistan, the highway is of strategic importance to India, as it provides an alternative route into landlocked Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar port.

Afghan Parliament:

• The Afghan Parliament in Kabul was built by India at $90 million and was opened in 2015.
• A block in the building is named after former PM AB Vajpayee.

Stor Palace:

• In 2016, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the restored Stor Palace in Kabul, originally built in the late 19th century.
• The palace was the setting for the 1919 Rawalpindi Agreement by which Afghanistan became an independent country.

Aga Khan heritage project:

• India pledged $1 million for another Aga Khan heritage project, the restoration of the Bala Hissar Fort south of Kabul, whose origins go back to the 6th century.
• Bala Hissar went on to become a significant Mughal fort, parts of it were rebuilt by Jahangir, and it was used as a residence by Shah Jahan.

Source “Afghanistan open for investment by India, say Taliban”

To know about history of Afghanistan click here.