Turkey to increase presence, continue support of Afghan forces: Turkish FM

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu vowed that Turkey would continue to support infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. AA Photo

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has announced that the number of Turkish troops stationed in Afghanistan will be increased from 700 to 1,100.

“We will continue training and equipping Afghan security forces,” Çavuşoğlu said on Jan. 19 in an address to the International Junior Diplomats Program.

The training mission will take place both in Afghanistan and in Turkey, he added.

Çavuşoğlu also stated that Turkey would spend 50 million euros to run the management of the Kabul International Airport for a two-year term, adding that Turkey would continue to support infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.

The Turkish Parliament authorized the government on Jan. 13 to continue posting Turkish troops in Afghanistan for two more years under a new NATO mission.

According to the new legislation, the government will be able to send troops to Afghanistan to support a new NATO-led mission called Resolute Support, which was launched on Jan. 1, 2015.

As the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ended its 13-year combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, the mission has evolved into training and advising of the nascent Afghan security forces.