KABUL, Dec. 29 (Xinhua)-- The visiting Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Severiano Teixeira said Saturday that Portugual will boost military strength in the post-Taliban Afghanistan.

    "We know that training of Afghanistan National Army is very important and that is why Portugal will send at the beginning of 2008 a team for training of Afghan Army," he told newsmen at a joint press conference with his Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak.

    The new team is composed of 15 elements to train the personnel of Afghanistan National Army, he said.

    He also linked the security of Europe to the security of Afghanistan and added Portugal is committed to support peace and stability in Afghanistan.

    "In a certain way the security of Afghanistan is our security in general and that is why Portugal is committed in the security, prosperity and stability of Afghanistan since 2005," Teixeira said.

    Currently, 161 military servicemen of Portugal serving as Quick Reaction Force within the framework of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been mostly stationed in Kabul but have the mandate to operate in each part of Afghanistan if needed.

    Some 55,000 troops of NATO-led ISAF and the U.S.-led Coalition forces have been stationed in Afghanistan to fight Taliban and al-Qaida operatives in the post-Taliban central Asian state.