PM Modi with President Xi Jinping
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to undertake a joint India-China economic project in war-torn Afghanistan, PTI reported quoting its sources.
The understanding, which is likely to upset Pakistan, was reached between the two leaders during the two-day informal summit which concluded in Wuhan today.
This will be the first such project in the war-ravaged country by India and China.
Pakistan may feel offended over this move as it considers Beijing as its “all weather ally”.
With an aim to expand its influence in Kabul, China has tacitly backed Pakistan, which has been accused by Afghanistan and the US of backing the Taliban.
Both Afghanistan and the US have accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to terror groups which carry out attacks in Afghanistan, destabilising any attempts to restore peace.
China for the first time held a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan in December last in Beijing to narrow down the differences between the two countries.
China had also announced plans to extend its controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan at the meeting.
