India to reopen embassy in Kabul after 4-year hiatus

India has announced that it is upgrading its technical mission in Kabul to a full-fledged embassy, cementing its first high-level diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan’s Taliban administration since the group seized power in 2021 after the United States withdrawal and fall of the previous government. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday revealed the decision following talks with his Afghan counterpart in New Delhi. “Closer cooperation between us contributes to your national development, as well as regional stability and resilience,” Jaishanker noted, addressing Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at a joint news briefing. Jaishankar said India was “fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan”. He thanked Muttaqi for his “invitation to Indian companies to explore...