Georgia Pledges Post-2014 Afghan Contribution
Georgia has committed to continue contributing to NATO mission in Afghanistan by providing training to Afghan security forces after the foreign combat troops exit in 2014, according to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“ISAF mission will be completed by the end of 2014, but we will continue to support Afghan security forces beyond that date,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General, said at a joint news conference with President Saakashvili in Tbilisi on September 6.
“We have already started to develop the new NATO-led mission and I am very pleased that Georgia is committed to be part of it,” said Rasmussen, who is visiting Georgia as part of his trip to the South Caucasus states.
In a press release about Rasmussen’s visit to Georgia, NATO said that Tbilisi “will train, advise and assist Afghan security forces” as part of post-2014 NATO mission.
Last year Georgia sent 11 military instructors to Kandahar to train Afghan forces in artillery, according to the Georgian Ministry of Defense.
After Georgia sends more troops to Afghanistan this autumn, it will become the largest non-NATO contributor to the ISAF mission.
Rasmussen said that the NATO was grateful for Georgia’s “significant contribution” to the Afghan mission.
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