KABUL (SW): The Ministry of Defense (MoD) has said that it is trying to seek financial support from the international community till 2020.
Muhammad Masoom Stanikzai, Acting Minister for Defense, said this after the first meeting of the security treaty commission attended by officials from the the MoD, the US and NATO. He was flanked by General John Campbell, Commander of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. Stanikzai said that after signing of the security treaties, the United States has vowed to financially support Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense.
The MoD is now focused on attracting funds up till 2020, and the final decision about it will be taken at the NATO’s next meeting in Warsa, Poland. During the Warsa session, which is scheduled to be held later this year, NATO will pledge further commitments beyond 2016 after an evaluation of its ongoing operations in Afghanistan.
The treaties between Afghanistan, the US and NATO were signed on the first month of last year, soon after the establishment of the Government of National Unity. After signing the treaties, the combat mission of the US and NATO changed into that of an advising and training role, and a small number of US Army remained in the country for this very purpose.
The Acting Minister further said that based on the security treaties, a lot has been done in terms of supporting the Afghan Air Force besides the financial support, capacity development and empowerment of the Afghan National Army (ANA).
General John Campbell said on the occasion that Afghanistan would have an organized military after signing these security treaties. He added that NATO, with working together with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) would deter and dismantle any security threat.
According to him, Daesh, the Taliban and Al-Qaida are the common enemies for both Afghanistan and the international Community.
ENDS
