Allied foreign ministers are meeting at Nato Headquarters in Brussels on December 3 and 4 2009, to assess some of the most paramount topics on the Alliance’s to-do list.

Of primary concern will be the ongoing combat operations in Afghanistan, as well as the Alliance’s open doors policy toward Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, missile defence shields, and Nato’s new Strategic Concept, the Nato website said in a media statement on December 3 2009.

Bulgaria has pledged to support the mission in Afghanistan to the best of its ability, saying it will participate in Eupol and send more reinforcements as well as financial assistance to the Afghan National Army (ANA).  

On December 3, it emerged that Bulgaria will wire 60 000 euro for the strengthening of the Afghan army, according to official information from the Alliance. More importantly, however, Defence Minister Nikolai Mladenov vowed that the country would participate in the European Police Mission in Afghanistan (Eupol Afghanistan), although the exact scale of deployment is as of yet unknown.

Additionally, on November 26 2009, Mladenov said that Bulgaria had "previously assumed the responsibility of sending a field hospital in Afghanistan staffed by about 30 doctors and assisting personnel".

Should the Defence Ministry send medical staff to the beleaguered state, it would be a vital contribution to the already 610-strong Bulgarian detachment in the war zone. Its main task is securing the airport of the southern Afghan town of Kandahar and military installations in the capital Kabul. In Kandahar, the Bulgarian forces have deployed a mechanised infantry battalion.

These developments occur as 20 countries have vowed to contribute to the mission in Afghanistan and send reinforcements at the request of the United States, after US president Barack Obama pledged to send an additional 30 000 boots on the ground but requested that Nato allies provide at least 10 000 more, to which Italy on December 3 2009 agreed to commit a further detachment of 1000 men. The United Kingdom has promised to increase its deployments by a further 500, exceeding 10 000 in number.

Italian defence minister Ignazio La Russa said that his country would send an additional 1000 men to the current detachment of 3200, the BBC reported on December 3 2009.

Concurrently, the German parliament agreed to extend by a year the mandate allowing the government to reinforce its own contingent in the country, world media reported.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, on December 4, Allied foreign ministers will hold talks with their counterparts from other Isaf troop-contributing nations, as well as Afghan foreign minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta.

On the agenda will be the proposal of Isaf General Stanley McChrystal for future tactics in light of Obama’s announcement about the increased US commitment in the country, the Nato website said on December 3 2009.