Hamid Karzai lauds India for its financial aid to Afghanistan

Pune: Afghan president Hamid Karzai said on Sunday that India`s financial assistance to the tune of USD 2 billion would go a long way in building developmental infrastructure and economic regeneration in Afghanistan.

"Indian assistance would go a long way in building developmental infrastructure in the country to recover from turmoil," he said while addressing a conference on International Relations at the Symbiosis Institute here today. Karzai described India`s assistance to Afghanistan "substantial" and said that in addition to other projects, India was also building a dam in his country. "We have a common purpose in fighting against terrorism and radicalism and securing our civil population," he said, elaborating on challenges faced by both countries. Karzai said that India had proved pessimists wrong who doubted the success of democracy in a country handicapped by poverty and illiteracy, adding that in Afghanistan too democratic practices were "well established". He also lauded India`s contribution to the educational sector and noted that there were about 10,000 Afghan students presently studying in India.