US President Barack Obama has made his third visit to Kabul to sign an agreement on strategic partnership with Afghanistan. He has held a meeting with President Hamid Karzai and confirmed that the US will remain in Afghanistan until 2014, RIA Novosti reports.
The agreement took 2 years to compose. Afghanistan will receive $4 billion annually for 10 years. The sides agreed to establish a bilateral commission to monitor fulfillment of the strategic partnership agreement.
According to the document, the US does not plan establishment of permanent military bases and plans to help Afghanistan train troops instead.
Obama confirmed that 23,000 of the 88,000 US troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of the summer. The US president recognizes the Taliban as a peaceful actor of Afghan political life. Attendees of the NATO summit in Chicago in late May will approve a plan of support for Afghanistan and the region as a whole.
One of the main factors of peace is the Afghan security forces. Afghanistan will have a total of 352,000 troops and the US will continue their training. The number will remain unchanged for 3 years and will start dropping then.
Four blasts happened in 2 hours after departure of Obama to Washington. The second blast happened an hour later. Five civilians and a police officer were injured. The Healthcare Ministry reported 17 people injured.
Two other blasts happened at the Green Village building where foreign staff of the UN and EU live.
