Browne finds "progress and optimism" in Helmand

Mr Browne visited Regional Command South in Kandahar, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Command under which British troops in southern Afghanistan operate.

The Defence Secretary then travelled on to the Lashkar Gah headquarters of Task Force Helmand where he met with the Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith.

Mr Browne took the opportunity to talk with members of the Lashkar Gah Operations Company, made up of soldiers from The 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland. He also met members of 23 Engineer Regiment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-led Provisional Reconstruction Team, who are working with local Afghan organisations to deliver reconstruction and development in Helmand. Mr Browne said:

"I am immensely impressed with the efforts of our forces in Afghanistan. There is a real sense of progress and optimism in Helmand, and our troops are making a difference. I come away with a sense that we are succeeding against the insurgents, and that the Afghans' ability to deliver their own security is ever increasing.

"We must ensure that our efforts to provide security are matched by International and Afghan delivery of development."

UK troops are deployed in Afghanistan as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. NATO is a key component of the international community's engagement in Afghanistan, assisting the Afghan authorities in providing security and stability, paving the way for reconstruction and effective governance.