The fifth round of the “Afghanistan-India Security Dialogue” was co-organized by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) and the United Service Institute of India (USI) on September 2, 2020. This round of dialogue was held virtually and the agenda of discussions revolved around “Emerging Geo-Political Trends in Afghanistan: Impact on Indo-Afghan Relations”.

The dialogue was opened with remarks from Gen. BK Sharma, Director of United Service Institute (USI), a keynote address by Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, former Chief of the General Staff of the Afghan Army, and welcome address by Mr. Tahir Qadiry, Charge de Affaires, Embassy of Afghanistan, new Delhi.

Ms. Naheed Farid, Member and Chair of Women Affairs Commission of the Afghan Parliament (House of Representatives), and Shri Shakti Sinha, Director of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, discussed “The US-Taliban Peace Deal: Opportunities and Obstacles”.

Dr. Arian Sharifi, former Director General in the Afghan National Security Council, and Maj Gen. Rajiv Narayanan, Head Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation, USI of India, discussed “Afghanistan National Security and Defence Forces: Effectiveness and Sustainability-Post US Withdrawal”.

Mr. Nazir Kabiri, Executive Director of the Biruni Institute and Amb. Gautam Mukhopadhaya, former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, discussed the “Impact of Geopolitical Development on Indo-Afghanistan Relations: Challenges and Opportunities”.

The dialogue was accompanied with Q&A discussion within the panels and also a Q&A discussion at the closing with members of both organizations and officials from both the Afghan and Indian Governments.

The themes of the dialogue between the countries are centered on some of the key issues pertaining to Afghanistan and India mainly the overall opportunities and challenges relating to Afghanistan-India strategic partnership as well as the role of regional and extra-regional players in establishing peace and security in Afghanistan.

The first, second, third and fourth meetings were held in March 2016, October 2016, September 2017, and November 2018 in Delhi, Herat, Delhi, and Kabul respectively.