April 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama announced that NATO countries will send an additional 5,000 non-combat troops and trainers to Afghanistan as a “concrete commitment” to the revised Afghan strategy announced last week.

“I am pleased that our NATO allies pledged their strong and unanimous support for our new strategy,” Obama said at a press conference at the conclusion of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Strasbourg, France.

“This effort can’t be America’s alone,” he said. “We’ve started to match real resources to achieve our goals.”

The new troops will be used to train the Afghan National Army and police and to help secure the country in preparation for its August elections. Along with an additional $500 million for reconstruction, the new troops “indicate the seriousness of purpose” that the 28 members of the alliance bring to the Afghan conflict, Obama said.

Obama came to the two-day summit on the Rhine River bearing the new strategic plan for Afghanistan he outlined on March 27. The plan calls for more U.S. troops, establishes benchmarks for improving Afghanistan’s governance and focuses more aid and attention on neighboring Pakistan. The U.S. will send 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan as part of the new strategy.

Obama today indicated that more help from allies will be needed to defeat the al-Qaeda terrorist network, and he praised nations for sending trainers even though they declined to commit additional combat troops to engage the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

‘No Less Important’

“The trainers we are sending in are no less important than those in direct combat with the Taliban,” he said.

About 3,000 of the new troops will be on a short term deployment, ahead of the August elections. The remaining 2,000 will be used to train the army and police. “We’ll need more resources and a sustained effort to achieve our ultimate goals,” Obama said

“NATO is putting its stamp of approval” on the strategy, Obama said. “All of NATO understands that al-Qaeda is a threat to all of us and that this collective security effort must achieve its goals.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Hans Nichols in Strasbourg, France, at hnichols2@bloomberg.net; Edwin Chen in Strasbourg, France, at echen32@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 4, 2009 13:27 EDT