Georgia will continue its contribution for NATO mission in Afghanistan in post-2014 period 1009122

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Defense News - Georgia
 
 
Monday, September 10, 2012, 01:43 PM
 
Georgia will continue its contribution for the NATO mission in Afghanistan in the post-2014 period.
Visiting NATO Secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said here on Thursday, September 6, 2012, that Georgia would continue its contribution toward the alliance's mission in Afghanistan in the post-2014 period. "We have already started to develop the new NATO-led mission ( in Afghanistan) and I am pleased that Georgia is committed to be part of it," said the NATO chief at a joint press conference with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
     

Georgia, which is seeking to join NATO, has around 750 troops serving alongside U.S. troops in Helmand Province, according to the Georgian Defense Ministry.
     

"ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission will be completed by the end of 2014, but we will continue to support Afghan security forces beyond that date," the NATO chief noted.

NATO has promised to help train the Afghan security forces after it pulls out its combat troops from the war-torn country in 2014.

Georgia will become the largest non-NATO-member contributor toward the NATO-led ISAF mission later this year, as the South Caucasus country plans to send more of its troops to Afghanistan. Currently Australia is the largest contributor.

Georgia, which is seeking to join NATO, has around 750 troops serving alongside U.S. troops in Helmand Province, according to the Georgian Defense Ministry.

The NATO secretary-general arrived in Tbilisi on Thursday, September 6, 2012, from Yerevan, Armenia. He will also visit Baku, Azerbaijan on the next leg of his South Caucasus trip.