A group of 70 Azerbaijani military personnel was sent to Afghanistan on January 9 in accordance with the plan and rotation for serving within NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
Given the importance of ensuring stability and security in this country, NATO appealed to the Alliance's member and partner countries in connection with the increase in the number of forces participating in the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, during his speech at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on November 23, 2017, has made a statement on increasing the number of Azerbaijani peacekeepers since 2018.
To this end, the Milli Majlis (Parliament) on December 29, 2017, amended the Resolution "On giving consent to the deployment and participation in the relevant operations in Afghanistan of a platoon of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan as part of the battalion of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey and under the general command of NATO structures".
The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, in cooperation with the relevant state structures of the country and the NATO command, has completed all necessary procedures in respect with the increase in the number of the Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent.
Thus, in order to ensure international peace and support of partners, the number of Azerbaijani peacekeepers has been increased from 94 to 120 servicemen since 2018, including 6 Azerbaijani officers, who will be represented at various headquarters of the Resolute Support mission, and also 2 military doctors.