Biden ends Afghanistan’s designation as major non-NATO ally

US President Joe Biden has officially terminated the designation of Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally, more than a year after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took over the country.

In 2012, the United States named Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally, which cleared the way for the two countries to maintain a defence and economic relationship.

The ally status had made Afghanistan eligible to receive military training and assistance, including expediting the sale and leasing of military equipment even after NATO troops left the country.

“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k) (the “Act”), I hereby terminate the designation of Afghanistan as a Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States for the purposes of the Act and the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.),” Biden said in a memorandum for the US Secretary of State.

The termination follows US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan last year, ending nearly 20 years of war.

The US now has 18 major non-NATO allies. They are: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia.