India and Taliban Discuss Humanitarian Cooperation and Trade Challenges in Fourth Joint Coordination Meeting
The fourth meeting of the India-Afghanistan Joint Coordination Committee was held on Thursday in New Delhi, where both parties discussed humanitarian cooperation, trade challenges, and visa issuance issues. This meeting took place despite India not officially recognizing the Taliban administration.
The session was jointly chaired by Shoaib Barili, Director General of the Political Department under the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran Affairs in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
Randeep Jiwaswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, stated that the main topics of discussion included cooperation in humanitarian aid, development partnerships, food security, health, capacity building, education, sports, and regional connectivity.
According to him, the two sides also exchanged views on visa issuance for citizens, existing obstacles in bilateral trade, and ways to enhance exports and imports between Kabul and New Delhi—issues of practical importance to traders and residents of both countries.
India has not yet recognized the Taliban administration as the official government. Nevertheless, New Delhi had previously mentioned plans to reopen its embassy in Kabul, which have yet to materialize—illustrating India’s political caution in engaging officially with the Taliban administration and the ongoing uncertainty regarding the international legitimacy of this regime.
At the same time, India has accepted several diplomats nominated by the Taliban administration, including Noor Ahmad Noor as chargé d’affaires of the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi and Akramuddin Kamil at the Afghan consulate in Mumbai. This limited engagement reflects India’s phased approach to the political developments in Afghanistan.
