NATO’s commitment does not end with transition: Medley

KABUL and was remained committed to its partnership with the country.

In a statement issued from his office, Medley said the message was clear at recent Bonn Conference and the following meeting of NATO and ISAF foreign ministers in Brussels on Dec 7.

He said Afghanistan was moving in the right direction and there was already promising evidence of progress in the first group of provinces and districts entering the security transition.

“The recent announcement of the second group of areas to enter the transition means up to 50 percent of the population of Afghanistan is to be protected by their own security forces,” he said.

He said NATO’s role would progressively evolve from combat to training and support over the next three years as its commitment does not end with the transition.

Last year, at the Lisbon summit, an Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan was agreed and a package of concrete assistance measures was expected to be agreed at the next NATO summit in Chicago in May next year.

“NATO and the ISAF partners will not leave the task undone,” he said, adding Afghanistan would not slip back into the hands of militants.

“The job will be finished to help create a secure Afghanistan – for shared security,” Medleys said, adding NATO and the international community had a stake in a stable and secured Afghanistan.

“That is why the Bonn Conference was such an important meeting with an important message that the international community will play its full part.” “NATO’s combat mission will end, but international support for Afghanistan will not.”

The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said: “Together, we have all made a considerable investment to make Afghanistan stable, safe and secure. And we will make sure that investment has not been in vain.”

Pr/ma

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