British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday welcomed an announcement by his Slovakian counterpart to double the number of Slovakian troops serving in Afghanistan.
At a joint press conference at the Downing Street No. 10 following a meeting between the two leaders, Brown said he " applauded" Slobakian Prime Minister Robert Fico's decision to increase the number of soldiers that will serve as part of the NATO coalition.
He said: "It shows the coordinated effort we are all prepared to make to train up the Afghan forces to ensure that they can take control of their own territory and gradually we can see a move towards districts being under the control of the Afghans themselves."
Brown also emphasized that Britain was part of a larger coalition of 43 nations operating in Afghanistan.
"There is a great deal of burden-sharing. There are more forces ready to come in from other countries and I believe that we will approaching a
number of other countries in the next few days."
Fico said Slovakian units would also begin operating in regions of Afghanistan outside Kabul and Khandahar.
He added that in this way, Slovakia, as part of a member of a 43-country coalition, wants to contribute to achievement of legitimate objectives in Afghanistan.
The two leaders also discussed the upcoming climate change conference in Copenhagen, where they believe the EU can take a lead in negotiations, and economic cooperation between Britain and Slovakia.