LOC19:54
16:54 GMT
BRUSSELS, July 11 (KUNA) -- NATO leaders agreed Wednesday to launch a new training mission in Iraq and to increase support for Jordan and Tunisia to fight terrorism.
"So today, as requested by the Iraqi government, we launched a new training mission in Iraq. And I welcome that Canada has agreed to lead the mission in Iraq," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference after the end of the first day of the two-day NATO summit in Brussels.
"It will be a non-combat mission of several hundred trainers. We will also establish professional military schools and academies for the Iraqi forces," he said.
Stoltenberg added they also decided to increase support for Jordan and Tunisia and further develop their capacities to tackle terrorism.
The summit declared the NATO Hub for the South based in Naples, Ital, fully operational.
"It will help us respond more effectively to regional challenges," he said.
"Instability in the Middle East and North Africa affects NATO Allies. We are determined to preserve our gains in the fight against ISIS," he stressed.
NATO leaders also agreed to set up a new Cyber Operations Centre.
Stoltenberg, however, confessed that there are disagreements within NATO without identifying the disagreements.
"In the history of NATO, we have had many disagreements. And we have been able to overcome them, again and again. Because at the end of the day, we all agree that North America and Europe are safer together," he said. (Pick up previous)
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