New Delhi, September 4
In what is bound to irk Pakistan, India and Afghanistan today entered into a strategic partnership under which India will, among other things, assist the war-ravaged nation in training, equipping and capacity building programmes for Afghan National Security Forces.

Key agreements An MoU on cooperation in the field mineral resource development concluded. The two sides will engage in close political cooperation India to assist in training, equipping and capacity building programmes for Afghan security forces Both nations committed to strengthening trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation

The landmark agreement was signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai late this evening after their wide ranging discussions on the situation in the embattled nation and how India could strengthen its capacity building programmes in that country.

The two countries also concluded an MoU on cooperation in the field of development of hydrocarbons and another on cooperation in the field of mineral resource development.

Karzai's visit had been planned for months, but it finally took place at a time when his country is getting increasingly frustrated with Pakistan. Many senior officials accuse Pakistan's ISI of masterminding the assassination last month of Burhanuddin Rabbani, Afghanistan’s chief peace negotiator with the Taliban. Karzai himself has said there was a Pakistani link to the killing.

Though he was quite careful not to mention Pakistan by name on the Indian soil while addressing the media with the Indian PM, Karzai did take Islamabad to task for continuing to foment trouble in his country. “Radicalism is being used as an instrument of state policy against citizens’’ of Afghanistan, he said.

Prime Minister Singh, in his brief remarks, said India and Afghanistan were committed to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. “The people of Afghanistan have suffered enough…they should be allowed to decide their own destiny without outside interference, coercion or intimidation.’’ Wary of Pakistan which has been vehemently opposed to India’s involvement in Afghanistan’s development programme, Indian officials have always said they want to focus on what they like to call "soft power" — economic aid and trade.

In the past, India has trained a small number of officers from the Afghan National Army but avoided getting involved in security operations. The strategic partnership accord will certainly annoy Islamabad, which has stepped up its attempts to control the future dispensation in Kabul after the withdrawal of the US-led NATO forces by 2014.

Under the agreement, the two sides will engage in close political cooperation by establishing a mechanism for regular bilateral political and Foreign Office Consultations. Political consultations will be led by the Foreign Ministries of both countries and include summit level consultations convened at least once a year.

The two sides will also consult and cooperate at the United Nations and other international, regional and multilateral fora. India and Afghanistan also agreed to establish a Strategic Dialogue to provide a framework for cooperation in the area of national security. The dialogue will be led by National Security Advisers (NSAs) and involve regular consultations with the aim of intensifying mutual efforts towards strengthening regional peace and security.

Security cooperation between the sides was intended to help enhance their respective and mutual efforts in the fight against international terrorism, organised crime, illegal trafficking in narcotics, money laundering and so on, the text of the strategic partnership document said. India agreed to assist, as mutually determined, in the training, equipping and capacity building programmes for Afghan National Security Forces.

The two countries committed themselves to strengthening trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation, as well as cooperation between other bodies of business and industry representatives, with a view to expanding trade and economic relations.