On June 2 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius arrived in Afghanistan where he will visit Lithuanian military personnel conducting the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation in the province of Ghor. The visit schedule includes meetings with the NATO ISAF authorities, representatives of local administration of Ghor and Lithuanian troops serving in all the regions of Lithuania's operation in Afghanistan.
At the meetings with the ISAF and Afghan officials plans of withdrawing Lithuanian military capabilities from the province, handing over the compound to the Government of Afghanistan and security situation in the country are expected to be addressed.
"The central objective of this is visit is to make a call on the last rotation of the Provincial Reconstruction Team of Ghor and other Lithuanian military deployed to other scenes of the mission in Afghanistan," Lt Gen A.Pocius commented on his trip before departure.
Prior to getting to Afghanistan the Chief of Defence stopped by in Tbilisi on June 1 where he met with Chief of Defence of Georgia Colonel Irakli Dzneladze for a discussion over the countries' bilateral cooperation.
Currently, there approximately 260 troops serving in Afghanistan. The majority of them are deployed in the province of Ghor while others serve at Headquarters ISAF Kabul and Headquarters ISAF Herat, Kandahar International Airport and the south of Afghanistan.
At the moment the last rotation of the Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team is deployed in Ghor. The PRT-17 will close Lithuania's mission in Afghanistan and will transfer the responsibility for security onto the local security forces.
The Chief of Defence is accompanied by a delegation of representatives of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Ministries of National Defence and Foreign Affairs.
The visit is expected to end in the middle of next week.
