WASHINGTON: The US has praised India's role in Afghanistan and welcomed any move by it that could convince President Hamid Karzai to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA).

"We've made our position very clear. If other countries in the region want to make the same position clear to President Karzai, we would, of course, welcome that," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters. Harf said the US position on BSA has not changed and it wants Karzai to sign it "as soon as possible." "Our position hasn't changed on the BSA that there are a lot of very good reasons for the Afghan people, for us, for our coalition partners, that it needs to be signed as soon as possible. We need to do planning, and we've been very clear about this all along," she said. supports the role India has played in Afghanistan.

"It's leveraged its economic strength to improve Afghanistan's economy. It's committed more than $2 billion in development assistance and billions more in private sector investment and projects that will help the Afghan people," she said.

"So clearly, we think it's important for Afghanistan to have important relationships and  strong relationships in the region," Harf said. (PTI)