On 4 October 2011, in New Delhi, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sign the Afghanistan–India Strategic Partnership Agreement, Afghanistan’s first such pact after 2001.

The document covers political and security cooperation, economic development, education and culture, with Indian commitments on assistance and training. The signature came amid planned international force withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The agreement was published by India’s Ministry of External Affairs; it deepened bilateral ties in later years until the political changes of 2021.

The official text is on the MEA India website.

For South Asian diplomacy, 4 October 2011 marks the New Delhi strategic partnership.

The document is available on mea.gov.in.

The agreement of 4 October 2011 remains the milestone of the Indo-Afghan strategic partnership.

Image: New Delhi; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Afghanistan–India Strategic Partnership Agreement. Treaty text: MEA India — Strategic Partnership Agreement.