India Official Comes Bearing Gift for Afghan Airline
India’s foreign minister came to the Afghan capital on Saturday for his first visit to the country and presented his hosts with an unusual gift: the plane he flew in on.
The Air India Airbus 300B4, a 280-passenger, twin-jet airliner, will be the third aircraft in the fleet of Ariana Afghan Airlines, which is slowly resuming operations after the war last fall that drove the Taliban from power.
Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said two more jetliners will be provided to the Afghan government by late September as part of India’s contribution to the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
Sinha had a fast-paced schedule on the first day of a two-day visit, including meetings with President Hamid Karzai, Defense Minister Mohammed Qassim Fahim, Foreign Minister Abdullah and others.
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