Herat : Unfazed by terror attacks on its missions, India will continue to extend cooperation in war-torn Afghanistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Saturday after dedicating a Rs 1,700 crore dam in strategically vital Herat province.
Modi said other countries may have a “sunset clause” but India’s ties with Afghanistan remain “timeless”.
“Our resources may be modest, but our will is boundless. For others, their commitments may have a sunset clause, but our relationship is timeless. We face barriers of geography and politics, but we define our path from the clarity of our purpose,” he said in an address after inaugurating the Afghan- India Friendship Dam along with President Ashraf Ghani.
Modi hailed the people of Afghanistan for denouncing terrorism and said division among them will only help those seeking to “dominate” the nation from outside.
“It was a war not of Afghan making, but it was one that stole the future of an entire generation of Afghans,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the brave Afghan people are today sending a message that the forces of “destruction and death, denial and domination” shall not prevail.
When Afghanistan succeeds in defeating terrorism, the world will be “safer and more beautiful”, he said. The dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, has been built by India at a cost of Rs 1,700 crore on river Harirud in Chist-e-Sharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran. It will irrigate 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW of power.
