New Delhi: India and the United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) have signed the second “In-kind Contribution Agreement” for the donation of the next batch of 10,000 metric tons (MTs) of wheat to Afghanistan.
Srinivas Gotru, Joint Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission, Ministry of External Affairs, and Bishow Parajuli, Country Director of the UNWFP, signed the agreement on Thursday.
The first agreement was signed in Rome in February 2022 for the supply of 50,000 MT, of which 10,000 MT of wheat was delivered in the same month, through Pakistan, up to the Pakistan-Afghan borders.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said India would provide 50,000 MTs of wheat this year to Afghanistan because of the deteriorating situation and the UN’s pleas for humanitarian aid to Kabul.
The first tranche of 10,000 MTs of wheat was safely transported to Afghanistan, and it would deliver soon an equal quantity.
Last year, India had sent 75,000 metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan via the Chabahar port in Iran to assist the war-torn country to improve its food security during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
(Venkatesh)