Dutch soldiers will remain in northern Iraq until May

Dutch military personnel will continue to secure Erbil international airport in northern Iraq until May next year, when other allies will take over that task. From 2024, the Netherlands may make a multi-year contribution to the NATO mission, ministers Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs), Kajsa Ollongren (Defence) and Liesje Schreinemacher (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) informed the Tweede Kamer in a letter.

About 120 military personnel are currently involved in airport security. They are part of the international coalition against the terrorist group Islamic State (IS). Dutch military personnel will remain active in Iraq for this mission and other deployment at least until the end of next year.

For the NATO mission, Dutch military personnel would contribute to security and armored transport capacity in the capital Baghdad and the surrounding area. The Cabinet is currently investigating the desirability and possibility of this contribution, the Cabinet wrote to the Tweede Kamer.

According to the Cabinet, it remains of strategic importance for the Netherlands to contribute to a safer and more stable Iraq, "at the heart of a very unstable region, on the edge of Europe." According to the ministers, the country faces many problems, including insecurity, corruption and a lack of economic prospects. According to them, leaving Iraq completely would not be "wise" and would be at the expense of "previous results" in the fight against IS.

According to the Cabinet, the center of gravity of international efforts in Iraq is shifting. Previously, it focused mainly on fighting IS, which has also suffered heavy losses as a result. Now the military deployment is more focused on preventing a renewed escalation and on strengthening the security sector in the country.