NATO Operations

ISAF

Afghanistan is NATO’s first operational priority. ISAF’s mission is to assist the  authorities of Afghanistan  in providing a safe and secure environment in the country, as mandated by the UN Security Council.  Greece is actively contributing to ISAF; it is financing development programmes in the agricultural sector (management of water resources), education and healthcare and is taking part in  the training of the Afghan security forces. The ISAF mission will be completed by the end of 2013, and NATO involvement in Afghanistan will change form as of 2014.

KFOR

UN Security Council Resolution 1244 provided for a NATO-led security force in Kosovo, which has been continuously present in the region ever since, also after the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo (on 17 February 2008). KFOR is the force accepted by the involved parties in Kosovo both thanks to the equal participation of other locally-present international organization – UN, OSCE, EU – and thanks to its impartiality in the carrying out of its own mission. Thanks to improving security conditions in the area, KFOR is being gradually reduced. Greece has been taking part in KFOR since it was set up.

Operation Active Endeavour

Operation Active Endeavour is the only operation deployed following the invocation of Article 5 of the North-Atlantic Treaty. It is aimed at tackling terrorism in the Mediterranean. ‘Active Endeavour’ is a successful operation and our country’s marine has been taking part in it.

Counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa

Greece is participating actively in international efforts to address this phenomenon which results in hindering smooth maritime trade, also within the framework of NATO.

Apart from tangible support for international efforts, Greece particularly participates in shaping world developments on tackling piracy and is a founding member of the UN’s Contact Group on Piracy, which was set up in order to ensure the strategic coordination of international counter-piracy efforts.

It should be noted that our country’s contribution to international efforts to tackle piracy is based on relevant provisions of international law.