NATO to help Libya to build security institutions

NATO will be sending experts to Libya soon to discuss ways to cooperate in building security and defence institutions in the country, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced here Tuesday. "Last week, the Libyan government requested NATO's advice in the security field. We have already moved fast to respond. Allies yesterday decided to send an expert-level delegation to engage on the details of the request," he told a press conference ahead of a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels. "The delegation will identify the areas in which NATO could add value and we are intent on coordinating closely with other national and international efforts. I expect the team to report back by the end of June, so we can decide on the way ahead," he said. He clarified that the aim of the mission is to provide advice and expertise to Libyans and is not about deploying NATO troops in Libya. Rasmussen said the NATO defence ministers today will discuss two issues, how to keep NATO capable and cyber defence. On Wednesday, the 28 NATO Defence Ministers will meet with their counterparts from the 22 non-NATO countries which contribute to the ISAF mission in Afghansitan and with Afghan defence minister, Bismellah Mohammadi, to discuss progress in Afghanistan. "Soon, Afghans will take the lead for security across the country. And at the end of next year, our combat mission will be completed. We are preparing a new and different NATO-led mission to train, advise and assist Afghan forces after 2014," added Rasmussen.