NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has appointed Dutch Diplomat Maurits R. Jochems as the next NATO Senior Civilian Representative (SCR) in Afghanistan.
He will replace Ambassador Simon Gass, who has served as SCR since April 2011. Ambassador Jochems will represent the Alliance's political leadership in Kabul, NATO said in a press release on Tuesday.
He will work to support NATO's goal of a sovereign, secure and democratic Afghanistan, as agreed most recently at the Chicago Summit. This will mean practical coordination with the Afghan authorities on issues like transition and NATO's post-2014 partnership with Afghanistan. It will also involve a close partnership with the ISAF Commander as well as the international community, the statement added.
"Our mission in Afghanistan is in a very important phase and I look forward to helping to ensure that the transition goes smoothly," said Jochems. He said he "will also make it a priority to continue the good work in forging a close working partnership with the Government of Afghanistan and other actors. The success of our mission will be vital to secure a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. That is my goal," he added.
Jochems, who is currently Dutch Ambassador to Estonia, is expected to take up his new post in October. He has extensive experience at NATO and previously served as its interim SCR in Afghanistan in 2008. While serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Plans in the Operations Division of NATO's International Secretariat, he was deployed to Pakistan to manage NATO's disaster relief support to that country during the 2005 earthquake.
"Ambassador Jochems brings with him an in-depth knowledge of Afghanistan and the wider region which will be of great benefit to our mission there," said the NATO Secretary- General. "His appointment comes at a crucial time for ISAF as we continue to hand over more areas of security control to the Afghan National Security Forces," he added.
Rasmussen also praised the work of Ambassador Gass, who is returning to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office after 18 months as SCR.
"Ambassador Gass has made a major contribution to ensuring the successful transition of security responsibility to the Afghan authorities as well as to the Chicago NATO Summit decisions on Afghanistan," the NATO chief said.
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