Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday offered prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Earlier in the day, Shringla flagged off the first consignment of humanitarian aid of 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan in the presence of Afghanistan's Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay.
"We are extending our humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, in the form of 50,000 tonnes of wheat. We are flagging off our first consignment of 2,500 tonnes in 50 Afghan trucks, today. It will be delivered to the World Food Program for dissemination," said Shringla.
"This consignment will go from Attari ICP, Jalalabad, via Pakistan, many such consignments will be sent to fulfil the humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in the next 2 to 3 months," added the Foreign Secretary.
In a ceremony held at Amritsar, Shringla along with Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay and World Food Program Country Director Bishaw Parajuli flagged off the first convoy of 50 trucks carrying 2500 MT of wheat assistance from India to Afghanistan via Pakistan.
In response to appeals made by the United Nations for humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, the Government of India has decided to gift 50,000 MT of wheat to the people of Afghanistan. The supply will be affected by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and transported from ICP Attari (India) to Jalalabad (Afghanistan) by Afghan transporters.
The shipment is part of the commitment made by the Government of India to supply 50,000 MT of wheat for the people of Afghanistan. The wheat assistance will be delivered in multiple consignments and will be handed over to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In this regard, the Government of India signed an agreement with the WFP for the distribution of 50,000 MT of wheat within Afghanistan, read the Ministry of External Affairs release.
( With inputs from ANI )
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