Monday, August 29 2005 12:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kabul: The scion of Gandhi family Rahul, seen by many to assume bigger responsibilities in the days ahead, yesterday (August 28, 2005) kept his first rendezvous with a major diplomatic exercise when he accompanied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his two-day visit of Afghanistan.

The high profile Congress MP, on his maiden tour with the Prime Minister, accompanied Singh to most of his engagements, including the talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

He was also present at the joint press conference of Singh and Karzai, standing along with External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and National Security Adviser (NSA) M K Narayanan.

A shy person otherwise, Rahul was seen talking to Singh and Narayanan and even helping them with an electronic interpreter machine when he found them struggling.

Rahul's choice to visit Afghanistan assumes significance considering that it was his grandmother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who had last visited this country 29 years ago.

"It is virtually a training for Rahul to see for himself the diplomatic encounters," commented a media person accompanying the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister's wife Gursharan Kaur, meanwhile, visited a women's organisation here and shared some time with the Afghan women.