India has upgraded its technical mission in Kabul to the status of an embassy with immediate effect, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press release on Tuesday evening.
"This decision underscores India’s resolve to deepen its bilateral engagement with the Afghan side in all spheres of mutual interest," the MEA said.
India had been operating a technical mission in Kabul since June 2022, mostly to coordinate Indian humanitarian assistance to the country. In August 2021, days after the Taliban* takeover of Kabul, New Delhi evacuated its then Ambassador Rudrendra Tandon and other diplomats from Afghanistan.
India's decision to formally restore the embassy status for its mission in Afghanistan was announced by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar during a meeting with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi on 10 October.
Jaishankar said at the meeting that restoring the embassy status would forge closer cooperation between New Delhi and Kabul, which would contribute to Afghanistan's national development and bolster "regional stability and resilience".
With the embassy's operationalisation, India has joined the list of a handful of countries, such as Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan among others, having a full-fledged diplomatic presence in Afghanistan under the Taliban.
*under UN sanctions