The Netherlands is ending its military involvement in Afghanistan, after four years in which its 1,950 troops have won praise for their effectiveness.
Dutch military chief Gen Peter van Uhm said they had seen security improve significantly in Uruzgan province.
But he acknowledged that "a lot still has to happen" after their withdrawal.
Nato has played down the significance, but analysts say it is a sensitive time for the alliance, with growing casualties and doubts about strategy.
Nato wanted the Netherlands to extend its mission, but the request triggered a political row which brought down the country's coalition government.
3D warfare
More than 145,000 foreign troops currently operate under US and Nato command in Afghanistan and are supporting its Western-backed government against a Taliban-led insurgency that has gained strength.
The Dutch military command in Uruzgan will be formally handed over to the US and Australia on Sunday when the country ends its commitment.
BBC defence correspondent Nick Childs says the Dutch contingent has pioneered techniques in the difficult southern province which have since been held up as a model for other foreign forces in Afghanistan.
These include the "3D" policy - defence, diplomacy and development - which involved fighting the Taliban while at the same time building close contacts with local tribal elders and setting up development programmes.
"We offer the majority of the population relatively safe living conditions and advancements in health care, education and trade," Gen Van Uhm told a news conference on Wednesday.
"We have achieved tangible results of which the Netherlands can be proud," he added.
Gen Van Uhm said 24 Dutch troops died during the mission and 140 were wounded. His own son was killed by a roadside bomb in April 2008.
A Taliban spokesman told the Volksrant newspaper that the group wanted to "wholeheartedly congratulate the citizens and government of the Netherlands" for pulling its troops out and urged others to follow suit.
A Nato request that the Netherlands extend its deployment helped precipitate the collapse of the country's coalition government in February.
Officials in Brussels insist the rest of the military alliance remains solid and note that the decision of the Dutch to go ahead with the withdrawal did not produce a chain reaction of other announcements about pull-outs.
But, our correspondent says, the Canadians are still expected to withdraw next year and with increasing focus on the process, if not the exact timetable, for handing over security to the Afghans, there is a growing sense that commitments are finite.
Nato will be watching anxiously to see how much attention the final Dutch pull-out receives, what the reaction to it will be and how that might affect the debate on strategy in the coming months, our correspondent adds.
