Alliance initiates UAE into Afghan mission as its first Arab nation

Nato officially inaugurated the UAE into the alliance’s Resolute Support Mission on Thursday, as member states announced an extension of funding for the Afghan security forces.

Abu Dhabi has long played a role in helping the international mission in Afghanistan but the alliance solidified the UAE’s role at the Nato summit in Brussels.

“We welcome … the United Arab Emirates who are joining the Resolute Support Mission and we encourage other interested countries to contribute,” a joint statement said. “This reflects the broad and continuing support by the international community for Afghanistan’s stability.”

Nato confirmed that the UAE attended the high-level meeting on Afghanistan at the July 11-12 summit.

UAE officials have not confirmed the strength of its role in the mission, nor the funding that it is providing.

The UAE was the first Arab country to contribute troops to the Nato-led mission. The Armed Forces have served alongside American Green Berets in the southern province of Helmand.

In the joint statement, Nato states and non-member nations contributing to the mission said they had reaffirmed their “shared commitment to Afghanistan’s long-term security and stability”.

The alliance said that “Nato allies and operational partners have increased force levels to maximise the ability” for them to assist the Afghan forces.

The Nato-led mission involves training, advising and assisting the Afghan security forces and helping Afghan institutions, as well as funding the Afghan military.

“What we decided today was to continue with both training and funding,” said Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary general. “Our current commitment to funding is to 2020. Now we decided to have funding to 2024.”