Karzai, Indian FM open Afghan agriculture university

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid inaugurated the first Afghan agricultural university in southern Kandahar province on Saturday. "The National Agricultural Science and Technology University is a key achievement for the higher education of Afghanistan. It is an important step forward for the upgrading of agriculture in the country," Karzai said in his address at the opening ceremony in the provincial capital Kandahar city. Khurshid, who arrived here for a day-long visit, said the inauguration of the India-aided university would further enhance bilateral ties and agriculture sector in the landlocked nation. Among other high-ranking Afghan officials, Foreign Minister Zarar Ahmad Usmani and Agriculture Minister Mohammad Asif Rahimi attended the ceremony amid tight security. Three decades of war and drought had a devastating impact on the agricultural sector in the country where over 80 percent of population relies on agriculture. India has provided 2 billion U.S. dollars in aid to Afghanistan since 2002.