Strategic Partnership Agreement

Strategic Partnership Agreement

On Tuesday, President Obama made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to sign the Strategic Partnership Agreement with President Hamid Karzai, which provides a framework for the relationship between the two nations as U.S. forces leave the country and Afghans continue the transition to full control of their own security.

In his address to the American people after signing the agreement, President Obama announced that 23,000 U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of the summer, and that Afghan forces will be fully responsible for the security of their country by the end of 2014.

As the war in Afghanistan comes to an end, the agreement the two leaders signed lays out how the United States and Afghanistan will work together to strengthen Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity, and to advance the shared goal of defeating al Qaeda and contributing to the security of the region.