The Norwegian involvement in Afghanistan during the second half of 2004 will thus consist of about 300 personnel, an increase of about 70 compared with current force levels, including a national support element and staff officers serving at ISAF Headquarters. The whole of this national contribution will be financed from within the existing Ministry of Defence budget.

“The security situation in Afghanistan is still very tense. Security is a necessary precondition for the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan, and one on which the successful conduct of the elections planned for September depends. The UN Secretary General has called for a greater international involvement beyond the confines of Kabul and NATO has taken on a central role in supporting the Afghan authorities. We wish to make our contribution towards the success of the stabilisation process,” says Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold, who also stresses that the missions being undertaken in Afghanistan are both demanding and hazardous.

“As well as supporting the work of creating peace and stability in Afghanistan, these Norwegian contributions will also add substance to Norway’s role as a credible contributor to NATO’s operations. The missions to be undertaken in Afghanistan will also give our forces the opportunity to gain valuable experience and competence,” says the Defence Minister.

From this summer Norway is planning the following contributions in Afghanistan:

Regional stabilisation team
NATO’s aim is to establish five so-called PRTs (Provincial Reconstruction Teams) in northern and western Afghanistan in the course of the coming months. Norway will contribute up to 30 personnel to a British-led PRT, in which there will also be soldiers from Finland. This regional stabilisation team will consist of something approaching 100 personnel and will be based in Meymaneh in northwest Afghanistan. It is planned that the team should be operational by the beginning of June. Because the NATO-lead International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has not yet met all its requirements for force contributions, the team in Meymaneh will initially be placed under the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) to which Norway has previously made a number of force contributions. Command will be transferred to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force once all ISAF’s capabilities are in place.

Guard and security company / Command element
Norway will extend the tour of duty of the guard and security company in Kabul over the second half of 2004. This Norwegian Army company helped to maintain security during the Loya Jirga, the Afghan Constitutional Assembly, held in early January this year. The company, with a total strength approaching 200, will form part of one of ISAF’s three battalion battle groups, each made up of three companies. Its principal mission, as at present, will be to ensure the security of a particular area of the Afghan capital Kabul. Norway has also undertaken to provide a command element of about 50 personnel for one of the three battalion battle groups as from August this year.