Rather than seeking to change the Afghan uniformed services into clones of the Germans, the Poles or the Australians, it would be both cheaper and more effective to have such training carried out by a nearby military that shares several cultural and historical links with the people of Afghanistan.

India is fast becoming a superpower not just through trade and politics but through its ability to share its culture with the world through food, music, technology and Bollywood, according to Dr Derek Lobo

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations...has in recent years, shared the best of India with the world. And yet, for India's best and truest minds...a new and redemptive approach is needed. One that distinguishes our civilisation from our nation, and our nation from our State.

After 9/11 and the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, whereas India projected soft power into Afghanistan, having by now invested some $ 2 billion in reconstruction and infrastructure building in Afghanistan, Pakistan stuck to its old paradigm of offering safe havens to and supporting a proxy war by the Taliban and Haqqani network.

Wary of Pakistan, Indian officials have always said they want to focus on what they like to call “soft power” – economic aid and trade. The two leaders also agreed to closer co-operation in the strategically key sectors of oil and gas exploration, mining and infrastructure development, pledging to use India’s growing economic clout to foster trade and investment flows.

India has offered to train Afghan police to help them prevent future terrorist attacks in a move likely to be seen as highly provocative by long-time rival Pakistan. India has long maintained that its support for Afghanistan is civilian in nature and driven by what its officials call “civilisational links”.

Most often, we concentrate on exchange of business, technology and know-how," says Peter Deubet, deputy director-general of the chamber of commerce. "However, we do promote cultural exchange between the two countries as well. There is more to Indo-German connections than automobiles and engineering.