(VOVworld) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that NATO will launch a non-combat mission in Afghanistan on the first of January in 2015.

NATO to end its longest ever combat mission in Afghanistan

Stoltenberg said the mission aimed to train, advise and assist the Afghan security force, adding that the mission’s implementation reflects the progress NATO has made, and will enable Afghanistan to build on that progress. Stoltenberg also said that NATO will provide funding for the Afghan national security forces and develop a long-term partnership with Afghanistan.

Stoltenberg said this was the time for NATO to leave the responsibility for security to the Afghans themselves while stating that Afghanistan will still face further violence next year, after NATO ends its longest ever combat mission.