As a major troop-contributing nation to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, Australia’s relations with Afghanistan have rapidly taken on new dimensions since troops were first deployed in Uruzgan Province.

As Afghanistan’s current Ambassador to Australia, Nasir Andisha, spoke to Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe about the changing nature of bilateral ties, the importance of Afghanistan to regional and international security and what he hopes to achieve during his tenure as ambassador.