15 Dec. 2006

Visit of Afghan delegation to NATO Headquarters and Joint Force Command Brunssum Official Texts 06 Sep. 2006 - NATO Declaration by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Background NATO in Afghanistan From 13 to 15 December 2006, an Afghan delegation visited NATO Headquarters and Joint Force Command Brunssum. The delegation was composed of officials from the Afghan Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence and the Interior as well as from the Office of the President.  A member of the office of NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan accompanied the party. On 13 December, participants held in-depth discussions with senior NATO representatives on the outcome of the recent Riga Summit, the priorities related to security, stability, good governance and reconstruction in Afghanistan, and the prospects for stability in the region. On 14 December, the delegation travelled to Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands for briefings on the mission and tasks of JFC Brunssum and on NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan. The delegation returned to NATO Headquarters on 15 December and took part in discussions on the implementation of the NATO-Afghan Declaration, which was signed by the NATO Secretary General and President Karzai in Kabul on 6 September 2006.  The Declaration instituted a comprehensive programme of co-operation in areas such as defence institution building, civil emergency planning, stockpile management and arms control, and public diplomacy. This high-level Afghan visit demonstrates that NATO and the Government of Afghanistan are fully committed to working together to implement the terms of the Declaration signed in September and to building a peaceful, stable and democratic Afghanistan.