Brussels: NATO defence ministers will meet on Wednesday and they are expected to discuss ways of ending the alliance's aerial campaign in Libya and training Afghan security forces for a larger role in their country's war.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who took over from Robert Gates as Pentagon chief in July, will be making his first visit to Europe in that role to attend the meeting.
The conference will begin with a series of preparatory meetings by allied defence and foreign ministers in the run-up to NATO's summit in May in Chicago.
Ministers have praised the operation in Libya, which enabled Muammar Gaddafi's opponents to oust his autocratic regime. It has been cited as proof that the Cold War alliance remains relevant to international security.
"Our operation to protect civilians in Libya has been a great success," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
NATO warplanes have flown nearly 25,000 sorties, including more than 9,000 strike missions, since the strikes began in March.
European members and Canada provided most of the strike aircraft, but the war exposed shortages in Europe's capabilities in strategic transport, aerial surveillance and air refuelling, which had to be supplied by the US.
The campaign also revealed rifts within the Western military alliance. Only eight of the 28 members participated, while the others stayed away, mostly for fear of how the new mission would affect the alliance's commitment to Afghanistan.
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