India has reaffirmed its commitment to continued humanitarian assistance and healthcare cooperation with a focus on the long-term supply of medicines to Afghanistan.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda reiterated this during a bilateral meeting with Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, who was on a visit to India last week. Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement, said that during the meeting, a symbolic handover of cancer medicines and vaccines was made, reflecting India’s continued support to the medical needs of the Afghan people.

A larger consignment of medicines, vaccines, and a 128-slice CT scanner is being dispatched to Afghanistan to strengthen its healthcare system. The Afghan Minister was on a visit to India from the 16th to 21st of this month, during which he also participated in the 2nd WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine held in New Delhi. During his stay, Mr Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali also met Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.

During the meeting, both sides discussed ongoing healthcare-related development projects, the formation of a Joint Working Group on Health, the establishment of cancer treatment facilities in Afghanistan, and sending a team of medical doctors to Afghanistan for capacity-building programs for Afghan doctors. The Afghan Minister also met Union Minister of Ayushn Prataprao Jadhav and they discussed opportunities for knowledge exchange and cooperation in education, research, and the regulation of traditional medicines.