NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Helmand Province on Tuesday to assess the progress being made in the transition of security responsibilities to Afghan security forces, the western military alliance said in a news release.
"Two years ago, the transition to Afghan security responsibility began and in less than two years from now, Afghan forces will be fully responsible for Afghanistan's security. Every province. Every district. Every village. And every valley," Rasmussen was quoted as saying in the press release.
"This is a great responsibility, but Afghanistan's forces have shown they can do the job, and they can know they will continue to have our full support," he added.
During his stay in Helmand province, Rasmussen visited the provincial capital city of Lashkar Gah, which incidentally was the first city in the region to start transition in July 2011.
In Lashkar Gah, Rasmussen met with Helmand Provincial Governor Mohammad Naim, Major General Charles Gurganus, the Commander of ISAF Regional Command Southwest, and Catriona Laing, chief of the United Kingdom-led Provincial Reconstruction Team.
The NATO Secretary-General also received briefings on the international community's help to the Afghan government in delivering governance and economic development across Helmand.
The visit to Helmand was the last stop in the Secretary General's trip to Afghanistan, which also included talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, other senior Afghan government officials, and young Afghan leaders from the group "Afghanistan 1400."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Political News
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.