JOIN USAhead of his proposed visit to Islamabad on an invitation by Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, Afghanistan President M Ashraf Ghani is likely to visit New Delhi next week.
Ghani’s visit will also coincide with that of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who would land in India as part of his five-nation tour.
During his visit, the Afghan President would meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would also call on him.
Though Ghani and Tillerson will be in New Delhi at the same time, diplomatic sources did not confirm if they would meet to discuss the new US policy of Afghanistan which President Trump announced in August.
Tillerson will be in India after stopping over at Islamabad and will call on Modi and Swaraj.
Earlier this week, Modi dispatched his National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Kabul to invite Ghani for a visit.
Ghani’s visit comes amidst intense diplomatic engagement between the two countries. Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah was in India from September 28-30, where he and Prime Minister Modi witnessed signing of an agreement to train Afghani police in India.
Sushma met Ghani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 21 and hosted Afghan foreign minister in
Salahuddin Rabbani early last month.