For most of the 21st Century, Canadian troops had been present in Afghanistan, yet still, like much of the world, Canada was caught off guard by the Taliban’s seizure of control in the country. The Taliban takeover now threatens to overturn two decades of significant progress for Afghans.
Similarly, India has important ties, interests, and investments in Afghanistan. As the most critical regional partner for Afghanistan before the Taliban re-seized control, India has contributed greatly to humanitarian and development assistance, infrastructure investment, and much more. Better than most nations, New Delhi appreciates the pivotal destabilizing role played by Pakistan in terms of sheltering and aiding the Taliban, and India also sees more clearly than most the geostrategic opportunity that China intends to seize upon with the overthrow of Afghanistan’s democratically elected government.
So, beyond the obvious interests in Afghanistan from these shared investments into the peace and prosperity of the Afghan people, Canada and India find themselves in a position of mutual need and advantage. This MLI-ORF discussion aims to bridge the gap between Canada and India with respect to their shared interest in Afghanistan. Speakers from both sides of the Indo-Pacific explore how Ottawa and New Delhi can work in closer cooperation with one another to pursue a strategy toward Afghanistan that can serve as a touchstone for future cooperation on a broad spectrum of international challenges.
