India-supported initiatives in Afghanistan and Myanmar have encountered obstacles and confronted various challenges due to the prevailing political and security conditions in these nations, as communicated by the Ministry of External Affairs to a parliamentary panel.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by BJP MP P P Chaudhary, highlighted a reduction in aid allocation to Afghanistan. The Ministry of External Affairs, in an action taken report presented in Parliament last week, acknowledged the committee’s observations and committed to addressing them.

India’s developmental collaboration with Afghanistan encompasses over 500 projects spanning all 34 provinces and multiple sectors. The ministry noted that several proposals are in progress, but the implementation of projects has faced setbacks due to the complex political and security environment in Afghanistan.

Regarding Myanmar, the ministry responded to the committee’s concerns about allocations, stating that despite the ongoing political turmoil, India has successfully completed and handed over capacity-building institutions in information technology and agriculture research in March of the current year. Addressing the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, the ministry mentioned the completion of its waterways component, while the progress of the road component has been hampered, primarily due to security issues on the Myanmar side and delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The ministry underscored that the current security and political conditions in Myanmar have posed numerous challenges to the execution of these projects.