NATO reaffirms financial support for ANDSF through 2024

LONDON: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies and partners on Monday met at the plenary meeting of the Afghan National Army Trust Fund Board.

NATO Allies and partners on Monday met at the plenary meeting of the Afghan National Army Trust Fund Board and “reviewed the implementation of their financial contributions in support to the Afghan security forces, discussed contributions for 2021 and reiterated their commitment to provide financial support to the Afghan security forces through 2024,” said a North Atlantic Treaty Organization statement.

“Today’s commitments help underpin the confidence that our financial support to the Afghan security forces will continue to be strong beyond 2020. International funding support to the Afghan forces is a key pillar of our commitment to Afghan security.

As of 5 October 2020, total cumulative contributions made to the Trust Fund since its establishment amount to over 3,2 billion US dollars”, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The NATO-run Afghan National Army Trust Fund was created in 2007 and was intended to enhance the effectiveness and sustainment of the Afghan security forces by funding activities “ranging from installation of donated equipment to training, literacy courses, professional military education, and capacity building,” said the NATO statement.

The fund is open to contributions from the broader international community, said the NATO statement, and it is one of three funding streams used by the international community to channel its financial support to Afghanistan’s security forces and institutions.

The other two are the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), administered by the United Nations Development Programme, and the United States Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF), according to NATO.