PRAGUE, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Slovak government has decided to enhance its participation in NATO operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, Defense Minister Frantisek Kasicky said Wednesday.

　　Some 50 more soldiers will be deployed to Afghanistan, where some of them are to patrol an air base in the troublesome province of Uruzgan, the Czech news agency CTK reported.

　　At present, Slovakia has 57 engineers in the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

　　They are involved in reconstruction works, repairing the airport and mine disposal in the southern Afghan town of Kandahar.

　　"We will have 111 soldiers operating in this mission in 2008," Kasicky said after a cabinet meeting.

　　Next year, Slovakia will spend about 356 million crowns (about 14.8 million U.S. dollars) on its troops in Afghanistan.

　　The Slovak cabinet also agreed on the enhancement of the country's military presence in Kosovo, where there are currently 135 soldiers in the Czech-Slovak battalion.

　　The contingent in Kosovo is to be reinforced by a helicopter unit, whose costs are estimated at 55 million crowns (about 2.3 million dollars).

　　Slovakia currently has about 530 soldiers in foreign missions around the world.