Indian Budget 2023-24 will help improve ties between nations: Taliban

The Taliban praised India’s Union Budget 2023-2024 on Thursday, saying that India’s aid declaration for Afghanistan would help to strengthen ties and trust between the two countries, according to Khaama Press. The Taliban’s remarks came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested in the Union Budget a USD 25 million development aid package for Afghanistan.

Sitharaman began her Budget speech at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, the last complete Budget of Modi’s second term. The Union Budget 2023-24, like the previous two, is presented in paperless form.

India has pledged Rs 200 crore in development assistance to Afghanistan. This is India’s second year of assistance after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. According to Khaama Press, the initial statement was made in the budget last year.

Suhail Shaheen, former Negotiations Team Member for the Taliban, welcomed India’s budget, saying, “We appreciate India’s support for Afghanistan’s development. It will help to improve ties and trust between the two nations.” When the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, relations between Afghanistan and India deteriorated, and most programmes backed by India were halted.

Regarding this, Shaheen said, “There were various projects in Afghanistan which India was funding. If India resumes work on these projects, it will boost relations between the two countries and eliminate distrust,” Khaama Press reported.

India’s budget for 2023-2024 is significant because the country’s next Lok Sabha election is expected for April-May 2024. The budget session of the Parliament opened on Tuesday with the President’s address, after which the Economic Survey for 2022-23 was tabled. On October 10, the formal process of preparing the annual Budget for the next fiscal year (2023-24) began.

The Economic Survey, which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, stated that India’s GDP is likely to increase at a rate of 6 to 6.8 percent in the fiscal year 2023-24. This compares to an expected 7% for this fiscal year and 8.7% for 2021-22.