Decision on increasing Finnish troops participating in the ISAF mission

Press Release 147/2010
7 May 2010
 

The President of the Republic, at the Government’s proposal, decided on Friday, 7 May to increase the number of Finnish troops participating in the ISAF mission temporarily by about 50 so that the total number at the beginning of 2011 would be no more than 195 soldiers.

The decision is one aspect of the policy set out in the Government’s policy paper presented to the Finnish Parliament, whereby Finland is strengthening the country’s support to Afghanistan comprehensively by means of development cooperation, humanitarian aid, civil crisis management and military crisis management.

At present about 140 Finnish soldiers are participating in the NATO-led ISAF mission; most of them are serving under Swedish command in the Mazar-e-Sharif Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the north of Afghanistan. Finland’s participation in crisis management efforts will be reviewed at the end of 2011, taking account of the progress made in transferring responsibility to the Afghanis and the trend of international military crisis management.

Additional information: Timo Kantola, Head of the Unit for Security Policy and Crisis Management, mobile tel. +358 40 353 7549