German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen held talks on Sunday with her Iraqi counterpart Irfan al-Hayali in Baghdad on the role of German soldiers in the country. According to the German news agency, their mandate, the stated goal of which is the stabilization of Iraq, runs until October 31 and could potentially be extended. Germany this year began shifting its military training activities to the central part of Iraq after focusing in the past more on training Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq. German forces will also advise the Iraqi defense ministry on issues such as mine-clearing and development of defenses against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, von der Leyen said. On Saturday, she said she could not rule out a longer-term deployment of German forces in the Middle East, amid a broader debate about a role for Germany in possible military action in Syria. Von der Leyen spoke during a visit to the Azraq air base in Jordan where some 300 German troops support a refueling plane and four Tornado warplanes that fly reconnaissance missions as part of US led-coalition operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Asked if Germany needed a strategic base in the Middle East, Reuters quoted her as saying, "First we must bring this deployment to a successful end. I dont want to rule the idea out, let me put it this way." Von der Leyen and other German officials on Wednesday called for concerted efforts to prevent chemical weapons being used in Syria, and Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany could not simply look away if such attacks took place. The German government said it was in talks with the United States and other allies about possible participation in military intervention if chemical weapons were used in attacks on Idlib, the last major opposition-held enclave in Syrian. Germany, under pressure from the United States to boost defense spending and take on more responsibility within NATO, did not take part in April military strikes by US, French and British forces on Syria after a chemical weapons attack. The United States has pledged to surpass that if Syria uses chemical weapons again. Later Sunday, Von der Leyen said German forces will be needed in Iraq for a long time to help rebuild the countrys military as it struggles to ensure that ISIS militants do not regroup in underground cells. Germany, which has about 125 soldiers in Iraq, is committed to supporting Baghdad as it rebuilds now that the fight to reclaim territory formerly held by ISIS militants is largely over, she said during a visit to German troops at the Taji military base about 30 kms north of Baghdad. "The fight against ISIS left deep wounds and scars in the country. It will take patience ... to strengthen Iraq again," she said when asked why Germany was bracing for a longer-term engagement in Iraq. "This is about a reconstruction of a country in all areas." Iraq not only needed stability but also economic growth and cooperation, von der Leyen told reporters, noting that Germany had invested about 1.4 billion euros ($1.63 billion) in Iraq since 2014.