"Afghanistan has a friend and a partner in the United States," said Obama before he and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement outlining cooperation between their countries once the US-led international force withdraws in 2014, CNN reported. Obama, on his third trip to Afghanistan since taking office, also addressed troops at Bagram Air Field.

During he signing ceremony, the US president said neither country asked for the war which began over a decade earlier, but now they would work in partnership for a peaceful future. Talking about the concern in Afghanistan that the US would abandon the country once its troops leave, Obama said, "With this agreement, I am confident that the Afghan people will understand that the United States will stand by them."