Publication

This brief looks at defense cooperation between India and Afghanistan after India’s adoption of a long-term agreement to supply arms to the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) in early 2014. The author argues that this agreement does not necessarily mean that India wants to become more strongly involved in Afghanistan’s security affairs. Instead, India is more likely to continue focusing primarily on economic development assistance when it comes to Afghanistan. The main reason for this lies in the fact that stronger engagement in Afghanistan would upset Pakistan – India’s main rival in the region.