Kabul/New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) India has delivered a consignment of six ambulances to Afghanistan, amid growing healthcare cooperation between the two countries, according to a media report.

The ambulances are equipped with advanced medical equipment and can aid in transporting emergency patients and provide emergency health services, Sharafat Zaman Amarkhel, the Taliban spokesman for the Health ministry, was quoted as saying by Afghan media outlet AMU TV.

India’s assistance can improve health services, especially emergency responses in Afghanistan, Amarkhel added.

The consignment is part of a commitment made during high-level talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi in October.

During the meeting, Jaishankar described the gift as “20 ambulances, a gesture of goodwill”.

“India will also provide MRI and CT scan machines to Afghan hospitals and deliver vaccines for immunisation and cancer medicines. We have also supplied drug rehabilitation materials through UNODC and are open to doing more,” the foreign minister had said.

Earlier this month, Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, held a meeting with Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda in the national capital and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the healthcare sector.

“The talks focused on boosting health cooperation, sharing expertise between medical professionals, building the capacity of Afghan health workers, and ensuring the supply of quality medicines to Afghanistan. Cancer treatment, medical visas for Afghan patients, and support for health facilities were also discussed,” Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health posted on social media platform X.

Jalali thanked India for its recent support in the health sector and outlined additional needs to improve Afghanistan’s healthcare system.

During the meeting, Nadda reaffirmed New Delhi’s commitment to supporting the Afghan people, including through the supply of medicines and vaccines.

He confirmed that a CT scan machine, along with medicines and vaccines, would soon be sent to a children’s hospital in Kabul.

Nadda added that India would work to ease access to medical treatment for Afghan patients and stood ready to extend further assistance.

The Health Minister noted that India has supplied 327 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan over the past four years. Proposals from the Afghan side for a radiotherapy machine and additional medical supplies are also being processed.

–IANS

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