A send-off ceremony of the contingent of the ARM's 1st Mechanised Infantry Brigade to ISAF peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan was held Monday in "Jane Sandanski" military barracks in Stip.

In the course of the 14th rotation of ISAF mission, 156 members of Mechanised Infantry Brigade together with HQ officers will be deployed in ISAF HQ in Kabul. Also the contingent is of mixed ethnic and gender composition.

Defence Minister Fatmir Besimi delivered an address at the ceremony and also held talks with members of the contingent on their preparedness on carrying out future tasks in this mission.

- It has been repeated many times about the importance of the mission in Afghanistan mainly for the international reputation and our country's position, about its Euro-Atlantic integration and general consequences on world and regional peace and security. The history of our peacekeepers in Afghanistan confirms the excellent results that ARM members are achieving with their professionalism and responsibility towards the tasks set in this noble mission, Mr. Besimi said.

- I have said many times that from country importer of peace we have become country that exports the peace. Lessons learnt by our peacekeepers during ten year commitment in Afghanistan simply correspond to conclusions by the official political representative of NATO member states and experts in the new strategic concept from Nov. 2010, Mr. Besimi said.

Minister Besimi said that NATO recognises the importance of the cooperation with partner countries, clearly expressed through frames and directions in the so-called "cooperative security" and in accordance with acquired experience and the need of different access to modern security threats i.e. the importance of civil-military cooperation for operational success.