Pact allows 10,000 American troops to remain in the country and raises hopes for improved US-Afghan relations

Afghanistan and the US have signed a long-delayed agreement to allow international forces to stay in the country beyond 2014.

In a low-key ceremony at the presidential palace, the Afghan national security adviser and the US ambassador signed the bilateral security agreement in the presence of the new Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani.

Hamid Karzai, Ghani’s predecessor, refused to sign the pact for more than a year, frustrating international partners who would have had to begin withdrawing material and personnel soon without it. The deal also ensures aid will continue to come from Nato countries.

“Our army needs help from [the] United States and Nato. Not only on the security side but also financially,” says Abbas Noyan, a Ghani spokesman.

“Many have been waiting for a positive sign from the Afghan government of their desire for an international presence in the country,” says Nato’s spokesman in Afghanistan, Christopher Chambers. “It also sends a very strong message to the Afghan people about our concrete commitment to continuing our support.”

Under the terms of the agreement, signed by national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar and US ambassador James Cunningham, about 12,000 foreign troops are expected to stay to train and assist Afghan security forces after the US-led combat mission formally ends at the end of 2014.

Although a significant reduction from the 41,000 Nato troops currently in the country, this international commitment to counter-insurgency is vital, said Mohammad Isaqzadeh, a political analyst in Kabul.

“It is the single most important agreement for the sustenance of the Afghan security forces,” he said. “It guarantees the survival of the Afghan forces.”

In fact, the thinning international presence is already being felt. Insurgents have spent the summer testing the resilience of the government’s army and police, unleashing some of the worst violence since the war began. Taking advantage of a lengthy election crisis, and buoyed by fighters escaping bombing campaigns in Pakistan, Taliban have gained ground in crucial areas.

In Sangin, a district of Helmand province that British soldiers helped protect for more than a decade, more than 200 government forces lost their lives over the summer. In the north of the country, where a large contingency of German troops is based, militants are squeezing the city of Kunduz. Last week, at least 60 people were killed when Taliban attacked a district in Ghazni province, 93 miles (150km) southwest of Kabul, burning down houses and decapitating civilians.

At the recent Nato summit in Newport, Wales, the alliance committed $4.1bn (£2.5bn) in annual security support to Afghanistan. However, with the annual bill running at $5.5bn (£3.4bn), Afghanistan’s 350,000-strong army and police force is underfinanced and its personnel may soon have to be cut by a third.

The signing of Tuesday’s deal not only bolsters the security forces. It is also an early boost to the new government. When he was inaugurated on Monday, Ghani swore in his election opponent Abdullah Abdullah as the government chief executive in a newly hatched arrangement brokered by the US and fiercely derided by the Taliban. With its first win in the bag, Ghani and Abdullah demonstrated resolve, says Isaqzadeh. “And it will demoralize the Taliban because it shows that the US supports the political agreement,” he added.