Finland welcomes Sweden’s announcement on Afghanistan
Government Communications Unit
Press Release 328/2010
1 November 2010
The President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy welcomed Sweden’s announcement today to continue its participation in crisis management in Afghanistan. Finland and Sweden have worked in effective cooperation in planning the countries’ participation.
Sweden’s announcement is based on Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s commitment to transitioning the management and implementation of military operations to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in all provinces by the end of 2014. The international community expressed its support to the objective at the Kabul Conference in July 2010. The international community also committed to provide the support necessary to increase security, and to the continued support in training, equipping and providing financing to the ANSF to take on the task of securing their country.
Decision on phased transition to full Afghan responsibility for security will be made separately for each province based on the Afghan Government’s overall assessment of the situation. Over time, the transition of responsibility will affect the duties of the ISAF troops in the Finnish and Swedish operation areas, too.
Sweden’s announcement is in line with Finland’s decisions to date. Finland’s participation is overviewed in crisis management reports published every six months and at the end of 2011 with due account of the progress made in transitioning responsibility to the Afghans. Based on made decisions, the total strength of our participation will be 195 soldiers at the most.
Finland also intends to strengthen its contribution to civil crisis management within the framework of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan, UN activities and other international organisations’ development efforts.
Inquiries: Teemu Tanner, Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5032 and Mari Eteläpää, Special Adviser, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 9 1608 8272.