Kabul: The NATO chief has pledged the alliance will hand over responsibility for securing Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the end of 2014 as scheduled.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke on Thursday during a visit to an Afghan base outside the capital Kabul.
He says that what he has seen in touring the country has made him more confident that NATO will meet the 2014 goal.
Rasmussen says the Afghan special forces are "some of the best in the world" and "the backbone of our strategy for handing over”.
He stressed that funding and training of Afghan troops by NATO would continue after 2014.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, April 12, 2012, 15:01