“We are preparing our withdrawal. That will happen in the course of 2021.” With those words, Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder explains her plans to withdraw the Belgian military from Afghanistan.
The minister had already briefly announced the withdrawal in her policy letter. It was about a “gradual and conditional” phase-out of the Belgian presence, in the context of the NATO mission “Resolute Support”. But now she is also putting forward a concrete date: the withdrawal will happen next year.
The withdrawal will take some time, says the minister. “We cannot just leave, agreements must be made with our allies”, in this case Germany. “Just retrieving the equipment will take three months.”
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