New Delhi: 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 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 is its co-chair this year being the host.
The ministerial conference will be co-chaired by Jaitley and the Afghan foreign minister. Ms Swaraj is undergoing treatment for kidney failure and the MEA last week had announced that she will not attend the meet.
The HoA platform was floated with an aim to encourage security, political and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours.
