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Updated: 14-Aug-2003 August 2003

11 Aug 2003

 

NATO takes on Afghanistan mission

Background
NATO in Afghanistan
Opinions
11/08/2003 - Kabul
Speeches from the Transfer of Authority Ceremony
Lt. General Van Heyst, Commander ISAF3
Hamid Karzai, President of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan
Dr. Peter Struck, German Minister of Defence
Lieutenant General P.J.M. Godderij, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff of the Netherlands
Mr. Jean Arnault, Deputy to the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative

Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, NATO Deputy Secretary General

Lt. General Gliemeroth, Commander ISAF4
Press conference with Afghan Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, German Defence Minister Struck and NATO Deputy Secretary General, Minuto Rizzo
Multimedia
11/08/2003 - Kabul
High resolution photos of the Transfer of Authority Ceremony
PDF Library
11/08/2003 - NATO
NATO Briefing: Working to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan
(.PDF/144 Kb)
Today NATO has taken a leadership role in providing security in and around Kabul in Afghanistan, in what is the Alliance’s first mission beyond the Euro-Atlantic area.

At a ceremony held in Kabul, the Alliance formally assumed a leadership role in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a UN-mandated force tasked with helping provide security in and around Kabul.

This groundbreaking operation demonstrates NATO’s resolve and ability to address new security challenges and take on new missions and is clearly of benefit to all involved: to Afghanistan and its people, the United Nations and the wider international community, and the NATO nations and their Partners.

According to ISAF’s operational commander, General Sir Jack Deverell, this step was “a milestone in NATO’s development representing a real break from the NATO of the past to an Alliance which is more relevant and has greater utility in the uncertain security environment of the future.”

For more information, download the NATO briefing paper "Working to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan" in PDF format or see the “NATO in Afghanistan” link on this page for related news, background and multimedia.

 

 

 

ISAF Participating Nations (as of 11 Aug. 2003):

Albania: 23
Azerbaijan: 23
Belgium: 232
Bulgaria: 42
Canada: 1900
Croatia: 36
Czech Republic: 7
Denmark: 49
Estonia: 6
Finland: 31
France: 548
Germany: 1500
Greece: 125
Hungary: 11
Iceland: 1
Ireland: 7
Italy: 135
Latvia: 9
Lithuania: 2
Luxembourg: 9
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1) : 10
Netherlands: 43
New Zealand: 4
Norway: 64
Poland: 12
Romania: 32
Spain: 113
Sweden: 21
Switzerland: 2
Turkey: 163
UK: 267
United States: 110
Total: 5537
  1. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name