Afghan dilemma for China, India
The two regional giants are expected to play a major role as Western forces withdraw from Afghanistan.
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AS the West exits Afghanistan, neighbours are recalibrating their responses. Two regional powers, China and India, have yet to cooperate substantively on Afghanistan. After months of tortuous negotiations, Afghan presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani signed a power-sharing pact brokered by the United States in September. With this, Afghanistan got a former World Bank economist as its new president, one who promises reform, development and an end to poverty and corruption.
The Obama administration hailed the pact as an "opportunity" for unity and increased stability. A day after Mr Ghani's assuming power, the Bilateral Security Agreement allowing for 9,800 US soldiers to stay in Afghanistan past 2014 to help train, equip and advise Afghan military and police forces was signed. A separate, status-of-forces agreement was also signed, permitting a small Nato force to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.
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