BRUSSELS - NATO’s military committee chief said defense heads of member nations discussed the progress being made by the Afghan forces and the need for ongoing support.
Continued change in Afghanistan was highlighted during discussions at NATO Military Committee Meeting in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to the US Department of Defense, Czech Gen. Petr Pavel, the chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, said the chiefs – including partner nations – also received briefings from the commander of the alliance’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
Much has changed in the nation over the past year, he noted – the United States put its South Asia Strategy into place, and the alliance agreed to a larger train-and-assist effort in Afghanistan.
“We discussed the strategic, operational and political context in and around Afghanistan, as well as our main effort to train, assist and advise the Afghan security forces and institutions,” Pavel said, adding that all of the chiefs stressed the enduring nature of the mission in Afghanistan and recognized the progress being made by Afghan security forces.
In addition to discussions on Afghanistan the NATO defense chiefs spoke about other challenges including those involving Syria and Iraq and Ukraine.
Pavel said they also recognized the progress achieved by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces over the course of last year, in particular the growth of the Afghan Special Security Forces and the Afghan Air Force, improved leadership and the Afghan forces' growing confidence in their ability to fight and win.
During their session with Georgia, the Chiefs of Defense recognized Georgia's significant and enduring contribution to NATO operations and missions, and especially to Resolute Support in Afghanistan, Pavel said adding that they stressed their continued support to the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package and welcomed Georgia's constructive approach to the ongoing security situation.
“I cannot comment, obviously, on bilateral issues between United States and Pakistan but we are trying to influence all regional actors to coordinate activities towards better security and stability of Afghanistan. We had a representative of Pakistan at our meeting focused on stability.
They were contributing in a constructive way and I truly believe that Pakistani Authorities are taking steps to address terrorism. However, there is still room for improvement and we are working on it.
It is one of the major tasks for Commander Resolute Support Mission as well and he is working with all the actors that have influence on security in Afghanistan,” he said.