P. Gajdoš: We are currently not planning to increase our troop numbers in Afghanistan, but we do not rule out fulfilling the existing mandate
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- Date: 09.11.2017
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Head of the SVK MOD said in a statement after today's meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels that the Slovak Republic is currently not planning to bring up its troop levels in Afghanistan, however, fulfilling the existing SVK Parliament-approved mandate cannot be ruled out in the future.
On the SVK military deployment in Afghanistan, Minister Gajdoš clarified: “This could pertain to our medical personnel who were supposed to withdraw on completion of their duty after the departure of the Czech Medical Team, under whom they served. But, for the time being, we have retained them in Afghanistan and we are now considering keeping them there.”
As part of the meeting, Defence Ministers from NATO Allies praised the new U.S. Strategy for Afghanistan and were in agreement that the result of a quick military withdrawal from this still unstable country would be destructive.
At yesterday's multilateral meeting of the countries operating under the Canadian-led eFP Battlegroup in Latvia, Slovakia confirmed it would post two liaison officers to the eFP Battlegroup Headquarters no later than 15 November 2017. Similarly, it acknowledged the intention to contribute 152 personnel to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in the Baltics, due in the second half of 2018.
Still today in Brussels, Minister Gajdoš also met with French Defence Minister Florence Parly for talks with particular emphasis on the participation of both countries in the EU-initiated Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the potential use of this format for developing the bilateral cooperation of both countries.
On the SVK military deployment in Afghanistan, Minister Gajdoš clarified: “This could pertain to our medical personnel who were supposed to withdraw on completion of their duty after the departure of the Czech Medical Team, under whom they served. But, for the time being, we have retained them in Afghanistan and we are now considering keeping them there.”
As part of the meeting, Defence Ministers from NATO Allies praised the new U.S. Strategy for Afghanistan and were in agreement that the result of a quick military withdrawal from this still unstable country would be destructive.
At yesterday's multilateral meeting of the countries operating under the Canadian-led eFP Battlegroup in Latvia, Slovakia confirmed it would post two liaison officers to the eFP Battlegroup Headquarters no later than 15 November 2017. Similarly, it acknowledged the intention to contribute 152 personnel to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in the Baltics, due in the second half of 2018.
Still today in Brussels, Minister Gajdoš also met with French Defence Minister Florence Parly for talks with particular emphasis on the participation of both countries in the EU-initiated Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the potential use of this format for developing the bilateral cooperation of both countries.
