NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an address to Lowy Institute in Sydney on Wednesday said that people must remember why the mission of the alliance began in Afghanistan.

“We went to Afghanistan because it was a safe haven for international terrorists,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “The main task and purpose in Afghanistan has been to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming such a platform for terrorism.”

He said the alliance is edging closer to a peace deal in Afghanistan.

He said that he cannot say when the peace deal will happen in Afghanistan or “if there will be an agreement because negotiations are difficult”.

But he reiterated that the US and NATO are closer to a deal than ever before”.

This comes as Mr. Stoltenberg minted a new NATO partnership with Australia.

Australia contributes about 300 personnel to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, as well as funding for Afghan defense and security forces.