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Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai on Wednesday stated that Kabul's new policy, which was formulated after the 2001 terror attacks in New York, have placed India in a very prominent position.

"The relationship between Afghanistan and India over the past 10 years has been rewarding to the fullest, which I am sure the Afghan people will remember and carry on forward," Karzai said, while addressing a seminar titled 'Afghanistan and the Neighbourhood' at the India Habitat Centre here.

Speaking of the unique geographical position of Afghanistan, Karzai said that his nation is situated at a crossroads.

"Afghanistan is situated at the crossroads of South and West Asia. The country has been described as the Eastern crossroad of history. In the past three centuries, Afghanistan has had the privilege of shaking hands with all the great superpowers of the times," he said.

"The past three decades have been of massive significance to Afghanistan and the region, unfortunately mostly in a negative way. Before the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, the nation was very peaceful which went along with India's vision of non-alignment," he added.

Karzai also stated that Afghanistan was caught between two superpowers, which abandoned it suddenly, the tremors of which have been felt all over the world.

"The Afghan people waged resistance against the invasion, and as we did that, the West supported our resistance. With that, we experienced the imposition of two conflicting Western ideologies. This conflict cost the Afghan life and institutions dearly. When the Soviets left, the West abandoned us, which gave the inevitable rise to extremist radicalism and terrorism. The consequences of that were felt in 2001 all the way in New York," he said.

"From that point on, Afghanistan developed a new view in its foreign policy. We established a democratic set-up, a country that would choose its destiny through the votes of its people. We also decided on a multi-centred foreign policy. In this, we gave India a very prominent position," he added. (ANI)

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In Afghanistan's new foreign policy, India's position prominent: Hamid Karzai