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Spain to approve 150 more troops to Afghanistan(EFE Ingles Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Madrid, Apr 28 (EFE).- The Spanish government said Friday that it will ask parliament to authorize sending 150 more troops to Afghanistan, where some 500 are already stationed. Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the Cabinet approved sending the request to the lower house in the interests of improving security for troops currently operating in the Central Asian nation. The new unit will be sent to Afghanistan to reinforce the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Qala i Naw and guard the increasing number of civil recontruction works. Fernandez de la Vega said that Spain's mission in Afghanistan is to collaborate in the construction of infrastructure projects designed to improve the "precarious" lives of the Afghan people. Last Tuesday, on a visit to Spanish troops, Defense Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said he would ask parliament for authorization to increase the number of soldiers, and said that he had the backing of the majority of political groups to do so. In Afghan territory Spain maintains a force of 570 soldiers distributed among Herat, Qala i Naw and Kabul, which is integrated with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) of the United Nations in Afghanistan. In late January, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos emphasized Spain's interest in "maintaining its commitment to Afghanistan," both economically and militarily. Moratinos said that Spain "has been there since the beginning, helping in every useful way to restore the rule of law in Afghanistan, with a military presence, presence in cooperation and a political presence that has solidified with the opening of the embassy." At that time, Spanish aid to Afghanistan had amounted to 191 million euros ($232.2 million). EFE aam/cd |