India is keeping up with its commitment of unconditional support to the people of Afghanistan who are grappling with acute food and medicines shortages. India today has sent the first tranche of 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat loaded in 50 trucks to Afghanistan. The first convoy would hand over the consignment to World Food Programme at Jalalabad (Afghanistan). The shipment is part of the commitment made by the Government of India to supply 50,000 MT of wheat for the people of Afghanistan. The wheat assistance will be delivered in multiple consignments and will be handed over to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In this regard, the Government of India signed an agreement with the WFP for the distribution of 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan.
India has been insisting that aid should be distributed evenly to all the needy irrespective of caste and creed. Each bag is stamped with the following text—”Gift from the people of India to the people of Afghanistan” in English, Pashto and Dari. In a ceremony held at Amritsar on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla along with Afghan Ambassador Farid Mamundzay and World Food Program Country Director Bishaw Parajuli, flagged off the first convoy of 50 trucks carrying 2,500 MT of wheat assistance from India to Afghanistan via Pakistan. The sacks are double bagged for the preservation of the consignment from moisture and any infection. The shelf life of the wheat is a minimum of one year from the date of dispatch and necessary information would be clearly mentioned on the bag.
Fumigation of the consignment has been undertaken before handing over for transportation in order to cater for long passage time. Guidelines for necessary precautions to preserve the consignment during passage would be given to the Afghan transport agency.
The packaging is done in double gunny with the inner being Jute and only outer packing alone being HDPE/PP. The net weight of wheat in each bag would be 50 kg. FCI is providing necessary phytosanitary and fit to consumption certificate before handing over. Furthermore, India is also getting the wheat quality tested by WFP approved laboratories.
The Afghanistan embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday expressed its gratitude to India for giving the first consignment of humanitarian aid of 50,000 tonnes of wheat to the war-ravaged nation at a time when the country is facing major food insecurity. “The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi expresses its gratitude to the government and people of India for the timely assistance of 50000 MT of wheat to the people of Afghanistan at a time when the country is facing a major food insecurity,” Afghan embassy said in a statement.
“The remaining amount is expected to be shipped in a month’s time and as per the agreement between the government of India and the World Food Program (WFP), the wheat will be distributed by WFP within Afghanistan,” the statement said.