The first round of Afghanistan-India Security Dialogue, co-organized by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) and United Service Institute of India (USI) was held in New Delhi, India.

Former National Security Advisor of Afghanistan, Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta, and ex-ambassador of India to Nepal, Jayant Prasad, inaugurated the two-day dialogue on March 14.

On the first day, the delegates had ‘indoor discussion with a restricted audience on security scenario in Afghanistan-India strategic partnership, energy and trade corridors and role of external players in peace building in Afghanistan.

Four working sessions were held on March 14 discussing the themes of “Security Scenario in Afghanistan- Internal dynamics and External Linkages and Regional Implications”, “Afghanistan-India Strategic Partnership: Opportunities and Challenges”, “Role of Regional and Extra Regional Players in establishing Peace and Security in Afghanistan” and “Salience of Afghanistan in Transport linkages, Energy, Commerce and Trade between Central / West Asia and South Asia”.

Two working sessions were held on March 14 and the discussions were on “Developing Security Scenario in Afghanistan” and “Peace Building and Development of Afghanistan- Aspirations, Challenges and Prospects”.

On the sideline of this dialogue, a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed between USI, a Delhi-based think tank, and AISS for future bilateral cooperation in the areas of joint research, regional conferences and scholarly exchanges. Both AISS and USI strongly believe that this agreement provides the basis for the two institutions’ long term program development. The second meeting will take place in Kabul in late 2016.