BRATISLAVA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia will send 42 soldiers and military police officers to Iraq as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) noncombat mission in cooperation with the U.S. and Italian armed forces, Slovak Parliament decided on Tuesday.
Members of the Slovak Military Police will participate in training Iraqi police and security forces, based on a mutual cooperation agreement with Italy.
The training programme, led by Italy, also involves members of the Slovak Armed Forces, who are slated to provide support to Iraqi defence and security forces in cooperation with the United States.
"Slovakia will once again send out a signal that it stands ready to help everywhere it's needed. We care about eliminating security threats in all vectors, including in the fight against terrorism," stressed Slovak Defence Minister Peter Gajdos, emphasising that Slovak troops will serve in Iraq mostly in a training role and not in a combat capacity.
As part of the approved mandate, Slovakia will send ten professional soldiers and two military police officers this year, with the rest of the personnel scheduled to be deployed in 2019.
