US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Photo: Reuters)

NATO will continue to support Afghanistan and have pledged financial aid for the Afghan security forces after the international force of combat troops leaves the country in 2014. After a NATO ministerial meeting in Belgium on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that NATO member states have agreed to give the major priorities for Afghanistan for approval by a NATO summit scheduled to take place in the US next month. Subsequently, NATO will gradually hand over security to the Afghan forces, which will pave the way for the withdrawal of combat troops from the country. Although Clinton did not mention a specific amount of money in aid to Afghanistan, analysts say that it will cost 4.1 billion USD annually for Afghan security forces to be able to cope with the Taliban. Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants the US to sign a deal that it will commit at least 2 billion USD per year to the country, after it withdraws its troops.