The Governor-General and the Minister of Defence have ended their visit to the New Zealand base in Bamyan in Afghanistan, marking the end of the withdrawal of Defence personnel this month.
Liuetenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae and Jonathan Coleman made a three-day visit to Afghanistan to mark the end of the provincial reconstruction team, which has served in the Bamyan province for the past ten years.
Sir Jerry and Dr Coleman also visited Kabul and met President Hamid Karzai.
Sir Jerry and Lady Janine will continue on to visit Jordan, Kuwait and Oman.
During the visit to Afghanistan, Sir Jerry paid tribute to the several thousand New Zealanders who had served in Bamyan province from the New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Police, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and civilian contractors.
A flag-lowering ceremony was held at the base on Friday, marking the official end of the provincial reconstruction team.
