No change in India’s position on not recognising Taliban, says MEA

New Delhi: India on Thursday asserted that there has been no change in its position on not recognising the Taliban regime in Kabul, in comments that came amid reports of an Afghan foreign policy body asking officials to attend an online programme under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) initiative.

The Institute of Diplomacy under the Afghan Foreign Ministry reportedly conveyed to officials in Kabul to register for the ITEC course which was to be hosted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode.

At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said that the Indian side does not issue any note verbales to any entities that are not recognised by New Delhi.

A letter issued by the Institute of Diplomacy to informing officials about the ITEC programme also referred to a note verbale from the Indian embassy in Kabul on the

course.

However, Bagchi said there is no question of sending such communication entities that are not recognised.

“India has been extending capacity building assistance to developing countries across the world through what is called the ITEC programme. This includes online courses,” he said.

Bagchi said these scholarship courses cover numerous topics and are conducted by different Indian institutions.

“These courses are also open to nationals of various countries, including Afghanistan.A number of Afghan nationals, both based in India as well as in Afghanistan, have been participating in these ITEC courses,” Bagchi said.

“Of course, the online courses do not involve travel to India,” he said. The MEA spokesperson said there has been no change in India’s position on the Taliban regime.