US bestowed Afghanistan with Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status in the wake of drawdown of the international forces from the country. The US President Barak Obama signed a Presidential order assigning Afghanistan a MNNA. This is the first such designation by Obama Administration.
The two nations had inked long term strategic partnership agreement in May 2012 which also includes commitments on promoting democracy, good governance, advancing long-term security with the provision of foreign funds for the Afghan forces.
What is MNNA?
- Major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States government to close allies who have strategic working relationships with US armed forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. While the MNNA status does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with the United States, it does confer a variety of military and financial advantages that otherwise are not obtainable by non-NATO countries.
What does MNNA signifies?
- The MNNA status will provide for a long term security and defence cooperation b/w the two countries after the departure of international forces from Afghanistan. MNNA status represents deepening strategic partnership b/w Afghanistan and the US. . The MNNA status provides a range of privileges, such as eligibility to participate in cooperative research and development programmes, expanded bilateral training opportunities and eligibility for priority delivery of excess defence articles.
The other countries (apart from Afghanistan now) having MNNA status are:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Israel
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Republic of Korea
- Taiwan
- Thailand