NATO will continue to train Afghan special forces outside the country after it winds up 18 years of security work in conflict-torn Afghanistan in coming months, the military organisation's top civilian official said Friday.
“As we end our military presence, we are opening a new chapter,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Paris after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron that were focused on preparations for a summit of the alliance's leaders next month.
Stoltenberg said NATO's revised role would involve giving “advice and capacity-building support to Afghan security institutions, as well as continued financial support.” He said NATO also plans “to provide military education and training outside Afghanistan, focusing on Special Operations Forces.”
It was not immediately clear where the training will take place.
US military leaders are still grappling with how best to carry out President Joe Biden's order to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by September while helping Afghan forces and monitoring the threat that prompted the U.S. Invasion of the country after the September 11, 2001 attacks.