WELLINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman will pledge his country's continued commitment to NATO operations in Afghanistan and other areas in Brussels this week.
Defence ministers of NATO-ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) states would discuss the military drawdown in Afghanistan and planning for NATO's post-2014 training, advice and assistance mission, Coleman said in a statement Tuesday.
"New Zealand remains committed to supporting the final stages of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan to December 2014. It is important to secure the gains made by the international community over the last decade," he said.
"Our 27 NZDF (New Zealand Defence Force) personnel make a small but valuable contribution. The government has previously confirmed that a small number of personnel are expected to remain at the UK- led Afghan National Army Officer Training Academy in training assistance and capacity building roles beyond 2014."
New Zealand was also committed to supporting NATO in areas of common interest, such as international maritime security efforts including NATO's anti-piracy mission, Operation Ocean Shield, in the Gulf of Aden region.
"As a trading nation New Zealand recognises the importance of maritime security, and we are committed to contributing to the international effort to tackle piracy," said Coleman.
New Zealand troops left Afghanistan's Bamyan Province, where they maintained a camp and ran the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) for 10 years, in April last year.
New Zealand maintains a presence in Afghanistan with 27 NZDF personnel based in Kabul and several agricultural and renewable energy projects in Bamyan.
More than 3,500 NZDF personnel have served in Afghanistan since 2001, most of them in the PRT, and 10 have been killed, eight of them in Bamyan. Enditem
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