NATO’s head has called upon Russia and China to help fund security in Afghanistan in 2014. The alliance of nations is trying to round up as many contributions as possible before the combat troops from most countries pull out of the country.
The annual cost for maintaining security forces in the country has been estimated at over $4 billion by NATO. The U.S. is hoping to get $1 billion in contributions from other countries in the alliance, but only Britain has pledged $110 million annually.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen the Secretary General of NATO said he would be pleased with financial commitments from China, Russia and other countries in order to ensure Afghan security forces are strong and sustainable.
China also has the biggest supply of foreign exchange reserves in the world and is better off than many western countries to help preserve stability in Afghanistan.
Experts suggest however, that the world’s second largest economy will be wary of entering into problems that exist in Afghanistan and does not want to take sides if this was to create a target for Islamist militants.
When asked, Chinese officials have been skeptical of financing the security forces in Afghanistan with cash; they would prefer to offer civilian aid.
