Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held talks with India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar during his visit to India last year (File Image) India has long-standing ties with Afghanistan, and it is looking at further strengthening relations with that country, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. The remarks came as the Taliban marks five years in power. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said there have been series of engagements between New Delhi and Kabul in the last one year and they have resulted in boosting the ties. "We had several visits from Afghanistan to India, and these have led to the strengthening of partnership in several areas, including development, cooperation, trade, and connectivity," Jaiswal said at his bi-weekly media briefing. "We have long-standing ties with Afghanistan, and we look forward to further strengthening these ties that we have with them," he added. The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, after entering Kabul following the collapse of the government and the withdrawal of US troops. The Afghan embassy in New Delhi is planning to host an event next week, apparently to mark the fifth anniversary of Taliban's rule. The ties between New Delhi and the Taliban have evolved significantly since the fall of Kabul. India had withdrawn its officials from its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021, and it was only in June 2022 that India re-established its diplomatic presence in the Afghan capital by deploying a "technical team". The two sides have been upgrading their engagement as well. Last year in October, Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited India on a six-day trip. Following talks between Muttaqi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, India announced the upgradation of its technical mission in Kabul to an embassy. India is yet to officially recognise the Taliban setup. New Delhi has also been insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country, and the Taliban has assured that it would not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against other countries. Apoorva Shukla is a journalist at Times Now, where she thrives on dissecting political developments both at home and abroad. A graduate of Delhi Univ... View More