Afghanistan–United States relations can be traced to 1921 but the first contact between the two occurred further back in the 1830s when the first recorded person from the United States was visiting Afghanistan. In the last decade, Afghan-American relations have become stronger than ever before. Afghanistan and the United States have a very strong and friendly strategic partnership. In 2012, relations became even closer when the President of the United States, Barack Obama declared Afghanistan a Major non-NATO ally. According to a 2012 BBC poll, the U.S. was the most favored country in Afghanistan.