India, China to Undertake Joint Economic Project in Afghanistan

The understanding was reached between the two leaders during the informal summit which concluded on 28 April.

File photo of PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

(Photo: PTI)

In a move that could upset Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to undertake a joint India-China economic project in Afghanistan at their first informal summit in Wuhan, official sources told PTI.

The understanding between the two leaders was reached during the two-day informal summit which concluded on Saturday, 28 April.

As per the understanding, officials of both sides will identify the project in following up discussions and working out modalities.

This will be a first such project in the war-torn country where China while trying to expand its influence, has tacitly backed Pakistan, which has been accused by Afghanistan and the US of backing the Taliban and its most violent attacks in the country destabilising any attempts to restore peace.

China for the first time held a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan in December 2017 in Beijing, to narrow down the differences between the two countries.

China had also announced plans to extend its controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan at the meeting.

PM Modi and Jinping have decided to issue strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communications and to build trust and understanding, said foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale, after the informal meeting between the two leaders.

Briefing reporters at the end of an unprecedented two-day informal summit between the two leaders in China, he said that the two leaders underscored the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in all areas of the India-China border region.