Modi, Ghani inaugurate Stor Palace

PM Modi underscores India's historic ties with Afghanistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani via video conference. During the inauguration ceremony, Modi said the restored Stor Palace was a reminder of Afghanistan’s glorious traditions and a scene beyond the shadows of violence in the country.

In building a prosperous Afghanistan & in bringing peace, security & stability, 1.25 billion people will always be on Afghanistan’s side.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2016

Glad to join inauguration of renovated Stor Palace, with Mr. @ashrafghani. It brings to life a valuable landmark of Afghanistan’s heritage.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2016

Modi in his video conference with Ghani said, "Today we have once again come together to celebrate yet another achievement of our friendship. Afghanistan is India’s immediate neighbor and we take pride in saying that we are close friends with Afghanistan and a population of 1.25 billion people will always be on your side. Indians will help in making Afghanistan prosperous.”



Ghani responded by saying, “We are ready to spare no effort in protecting peace, overcome terror and extremism and work for prosperity of our nations. I express my most sincere appreciation for the government of India.”

Prime Minister Modi termed the inauguration of the restored Stor Palace as "an entirely different, yet in many ways more fundamental, dimension" of Indo-Afghan ties. "I say this because it brings back to life a valuable landmark of Afghanistan's cultural heritage. To those who can't see beyond shadows of violence in Afghanistan, the restored Stor palace is a reminder of the glory of Afghanistan's tradition."

Modi used the occasion to talk about the India, Afghanistan and Iran transit corridor deal and about the India-funded Salma Dam built in the Herat province.



After the Salma Dam, this comes as the second joint effort of both countries. The Stor Palace, also known as Qasr-i-Stor, was initially built as a one-story pavilion during the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan. It was expanded on at least two occasions in the 20th century. In 1919, one of the rooms in the palace was used for the signing of the Rawalpindi Agreement, with which Afghanistan became a sovereign state.

India wants each Afghan to flourish and Afghanistan to benefit from fruits of economic growth. https://t.co/XaFdMFqUyq

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2016

This article originally appeared on Times of India.