Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to lead team at Afghan meet

New Delhi: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will lead the Indian delegation at the two-day Heart of Asia conference at Amritsar on the subject of Afghanistan, beginning on Saturday, which will see the participation of over 30 countries including China, the US, Russia, Iran and Pakistan.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who is unwell, will not attend the meet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will jointly inaugurate the conference. Afghanistan is the permanent chair of HoA, while India, being the host, is its co-chair this year. The ministerial conference will be co-chaired by Mr Jaitley and the Afghan foreign minister.

Ms Swaraj is undergoing treatment for kidney failure, and the MEA had announced last week that she would not attend the meet. The HoA platform was floated with an aim to encourage security, political and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours.