Opening remarks
by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers with non-NATO ISAF Contributing Nations
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our meeting today is particularly timely. It takes place just more than a week after the important Loya Jirga in Kabul on the bilateral security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan.
The Bilateral Security Agreement and the legal framework for NATO’s Resolute Support mission are critical components for our plan to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces after 2014. And they are key to our continued financial support for the Afghan security forces, which we will discuss today.
This meeting is also a timely opportunity to discuss preparations for next year’s Afghan presidential elections, which are already well advanced. These elections will be entirely Afghan-led.
It is important that the electoral process is credible, inclusive and transparent. And that it takes place within the timetable agreed by the Afghan authorities. So that a sovereign Afghanistan can advance with confidence towards a better and more secure future.
With that, I would like to conclude the public part of our session, and I thank the representatives of the media for their attendance.