Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Kabul on December 25th morning for an unannounced but widely anticipated Christmas visit to the Afghan capital. Calling India and Afghanistan’s friendship antiquated and “bound by a thousand ties”, Ghani thanked India for its “valuable assistance” as Afghanistan weathers “hard times”. Delegation-level bilateral talks between the two countries were held at Dilkosha Palace, the Afghan presidential office.

Modi later inaugurated the Afghan parliament building that was constructed by India at a cost of USD 90 million. The Prime Minister also addressed the two houses. Ghani and Modi toured the parliament building and arrived at the main session hall in the presence of the guests, including member of the Afghan parliament.

In a major surprise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be flying to Lahore this afternoon, his first touchdown in Pakistan, where he will meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif. The announcement came from Modi himself in a tweet as he prepared to wind up his brief visit to Afghanistan.

The relations between India and Pakistan have witnessed some positive developments after chill for several months. The two countries recently decided to launch a comprehensive dialogue after Modi and Sharif met in Paris.