Words from the President of the Government when he met Spanish military personnel deployed on the NATO mission in Afghanistan

Kabul

Good day to you all.

I would like to begin by saying that I'm very glad to be here today with such a large group of Spanish troops and that, as a Spaniard and President of the Government of Spain, I'm also very proud of the work you do and have been doing for many years.

The Minister for Defence informs me of the work you're doing within this multinational NATO structure, in a language and environment that are alien to you, while assuming the risks inherent to a situation that, as everybody is aware, is not normal.

For all these reasons, I would like to thank you for your mission, your work, your efforts and your dedication. I believe you're fulfilling your duty extremely well and I believe that Spain is demonstrating itself to be a great country, a great nation, with some magnificent professionals who are defending such important values as democracy, freedom, human rights and security in a part of the world as difficult and complex as this one.

You should feel very proud of the work you're doing. I would like to pass on a message this Christmas on behalf of all Spaniards: all Spaniards are proud of their Armed Forces and especially proud of the work being done by the Armed Forces in Afghanistan. We're all very content and I wish you all a happy Christmas and thank you all for being here on a morning such as this.

Thank you.