The Aegean province of İzmir, Turkey will be transformed into NATO’s land base, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said.

“The final shape of the planning is that Izmir will be the Land Force Command of NATO,” Gonul said in Antalya.

Izmir was hosting NATO’s air base and was one of the two headquarters, along with the one in Larissa, Greece, that NATO was considering shutting down last year as part of plans to tighten its command structure.

“We insisted on a restructuring, which will display Izmir’s international identity. Some work has been done, and we struggled. Now NATO’s land force command is moving to Izmir. Thus, instead of the air force, the land force will be in Izmir,” Gonul said.

According to him, the number of personnel at the base would not change very much.

“It has not yet been submitted to decision-making mechanisms,” Gonul said. “But according to the plans, NATO’s Air Force will be based in Izmir.”

The new plan will be discussed at the NATO’s meeting of defense ministers on June 8 and 9, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Izmir is also playing a critical role in the undertaking of NATO’s mission in Libya, acting as the center for operations monitoring the no-fly zone in crisis-stricken North African country.