India and China have launched their first joint initiative to train Afghanistan’s diplomats.
An understanding with Afghanistan to launch the program was reached during an informal meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.
According to officials from both countries, 10 Afghan diplomats are in India from this week for a 12-day training program.
China’s ambassador to India said the joint training of 10 Afghan diplomats at the Indian Foreign Service Institute was the first step in China-India-Afghanistan cooperation that was agreed at a summit between President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this year.
“This is just the beginning. China and India have respective advantages. For example, India has remarkable edge in agriculture and medical services, and China in hybrid rice and poverty reduction,” the ambassador, Luo Zhaohui, said in a speech.
“I am sure that in the future days China-India cooperation in Afghanistan will span from training program to more concrete projects.”
Luo said India-China cooperation in Afghanistan should be extended to countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Myanmar and even Iran.
In many of these countries, China is helping to build infrastructure as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, which India sees as a bid by China to expand its influence.
China’s call for partnership comes just a week after its embassy in New Delhi said India and China must deepen their cooperation to fight trade protectionism, as it criticized the United States for what it termed provoking disputes.