Afghan Health Minister Set for New Delhi Visit as Taliban–India Engagement Deepens

Kabul – Sources indicate that Afghanistan’s Taliban regime Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, is expected to travel to New Delhi next month for discussions on medical cooperation, pharmaceutical supplies, specialised training programmes, and prospects for Indian investment in Afghanistan’s health sector. If finalised, the visit will add another layer to the Taliban administration’s growing diplomatic engagements with India.

The development follows an unusually active month of high-level exchanges between New Delhi and Kabul. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently concluded an extended visit, while Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi is currently on a five-day trip focusing on trade, connectivity, and potential avenues for economic collaboration.

The timing of this diplomatic momentum is significant. It comes as relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban face heightened strain over the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) sanctuaries inside Afghanistan and a surge in cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani security forces. Despite these tensions, Taliban officials appear intent on broadening their international engagements, particularly with India, which has historically maintained substantial development and health-sector partnerships in Afghanistan.

Indian officials have not yet publicly confirmed Jalali’s visit, but diplomatic observers note that sustained contact between the two sides reflects both strategic recalibration and mutual practical interests. For Kabul, expanding ties with India offers economic and diplomatic leverage; for New Delhi, limited engagement allows it to retain influence in Afghanistan’s humanitarian and development sectors without formal recognition of the Taliban government.

Analysts say the latest round of meetings signals a deepening of functional cooperation at a time when regional security concerns remain sharply contested. Whether this evolving outreach translates into a more structured relationship between India and the Taliban administration remains to be seen.