India to give crash course to Taliban on culture, leadership and economics

Taliban officials are set to receive a crash course from India on its legislation, culture and business climate, underscoring the continued interest of New Delhi in staying engaged with the new government of Afghanistan.

The virtual crash course called “Immersing with Indian Thoughts” will be held for four days and will begin on Tuesday. The Indian Institute of Management will conduct the crash course in India’s southern city of Kozhikode.

The elite management school has been working in collaboration with the India Technical and Economic Co-operation Programme, as part of India’s Ministry of External Affairs’ regular training.

Taliban’s senior diplomat Suhail Shaheen said, “All those working for the current government can receive the online training after a process of selection by relevant authorities.”

Recently, a circular was released by the Taliban-led Ministry of Foreign Affairs inviting personnel and diplomats to register for the course.

The Taliban leaders will learn about India’s “economic environment, regulatory ecosystem, leadership insights, social and historical backdrop, cultural heritage, legal and environmental landscape, consumer mindsets and business risks,” as per the ITEC website.

Farid Mamundzay, Afghan ambassador in New Delhi, said, “It appears that there’s an effort on the part of India to show some direct delivery of technical assistance to Taliban, which would help in building good working relations for now.”

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“This technical assistance could be the starting point of a larger humanitarian and aid package of India to the Taliban,” he added.

The Taliban government is not been formally recognised by India since it came to power in 2021 in the wake of the United States’ exit from Afghanistan.

However, the Indian embassy did re-open in Kabul last year.

(With inputs from agencies)

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