Press Release (2005)014 10 Feb . 2005

Statement by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Event 9-10/2/2005 - Nice, France Informal meeting of Defence Ministers Multimedia High resolution map of ISAF expansion I am pleased to announce that NATO will now proceed to further expand the International Security Assistance Force into the West of Afghanistan. The expansion will establish a permanent ISAF presence in the form of four Provincial Reconstruction teams (PRT) and one Forward Support Base (FSB). Two existing US led PRTs at Herat and Farah will switch to ISAF and two new ISAF PRTs will be established with Lithuania in the lead at Chaghcharan, capital of Ghor province and Spain in the lead at Qal’eh-ye Now, capital of Baghdis province. Italy and Spain will provide the Forward Support Base (a logistics hub at Herat) with substantial support from other contributors. The extended ISAF mission will provide security assistance in 50% of Afghanistan’s territory. In addition to the ISAF presence in Kabul and the northern part of the country, the expansion of ISAF into the four western provinces of Afghanistan underscores NATO’s long-term commitment to helping Afghanistan build a stable, prosperous and democratic future.

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