U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai exchange documents after signing the Strategic Partnership Agreement at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, May 2, 2012. (Image: Reuters)
Speaking a year after Osama Bin Laden's death, he thanked US troops and hailed plans to end combat operations.
Obama arrived in Afghanistan on a surprise visit to sign an agreement on future Afghan-US ties with President Hamid Karzai, ahead of a Nato summit.
Nato has already committed to withdrawing from combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
About 23,000 of the 88,000 US troops currently in the country are expected to leave Afghanistan by the summer, with all US and Nato troops out by the end of 2014.
During the speech, Obama outlined the agreement he had just signed with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Obama also rejected calls to leave Afghanistan before the 2014 Nato timeline, saying 'we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly'.
In the wake of the agreement, the US is to designate Afghanistan as a major non-Nato ally.
(BBC)
