The United States and Afghanistan signed a new deal Tuesday, allowing for nearly 10,000 U.S. troops to stay in the country past 2014.
The Bilateral Security Agreement allows for 9,800 U.S. soldiers to remain in Afghanistan past the end of the year to help train, equip and advise Afghan military and police forces, according to the Washington Post.
Amid a rise of terrorism in the area, the agreement is meant to regain control of the country.
The signing also arrives a day after Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as Afghanistan’s new president, part of the first democratic handover of power in country’s history.
Ghani’s predecessor since 2001, Hamid Karzai, had refused to sign the agreement.
A separate agreement was also signed, permitting a small NATO force to remain in Afghanistan past the end of 2014.
