ISAS Insights

The formalisation of the Agreement on Strategic Partnership (ASP) between India and Afghanistan on 4 October 2011 caught instant and worldwide media attention. Coming ahead of the much convoluted US-Afghan strategic partnership, this agreement is seen to be a new twist in the great game. For the Afghans, it is a reaffirmation of the positive role India has played in the reconstruction of their country and future commitment at a time when other countries are talking of downsizing or even complete withdrawal. The partnership agreement, being first of its kind in post-Taliban Afghanistan, is designed to address the challenges of transition as much as prepare ground for preventing the reversal of gains beyond 2014. In highlighting the utility in India's soft power approach, the paper argues that India's decade-long aid-only policy has been successful in consolidating its gains through such institutional processes. However, it would be useful to see if India and Afghanistan could navigate through the difficult contours of regional security environment as they are poised to jointly address the challenges of transition and beyond.