Slovenia will increase its contributions to NATO's KFOR operation in Kosovo and the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Karl Erjavec said after talks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday.
To Kosovo, where 32 Slovenian soldiers are stationed currently, a 95-strong unit will be sent this year, according to the defence minister.
In Afghanistan, the country intends to start taking part in Provincial Reconstruction Teams which will work in the south and west of the country, although it has not been decided whether it will participate in the civilian or military part.
Slovenia will definitely not be team leader and is now examining which team it could join and how. One option is to take part in agricultural projects, Erjavec said.
He also repeated the promised contribution for Iraq: 100,000 euros for training of Iraqi soldiers, equipment worth about five million euros and five instructors for training Iraqi officers in third countries.
"Talking to the secretary general, I received confirmation about the importance of our contribution for Iraq," he said.
Slovenia's priorities as a NATO member are also to train units that will take part in NATO actions and upgrade equipment to NATO compatibility, Erjavec said.
In this framework, efforts will be made to meet NATO's target of having 40% of all troops in mobile units and 8% ready for high-risk areas. Slovenia will achieve these goals by 2012, according to Erjavec.
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