Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says it's hard to say whether New Zealand's mission in Afghanistan has been a success.

On Monday, Ardern said the Government had opted for a three-month extension, to September 30, on whether to continue to keep troops in Afghanistan, rather than a one year rollover of the deployment.

That would allow the Government to make a decision alongside other troop deployments in the region, in particular Iraq, she said.

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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says it's hard to know what success looks like in an environment like Afghanistan.

"There's no doubt it has been an evolving conflict," Ardern said.

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"Over [17 years] we've seen a change in the nature of the Taliban's presence, and of course, the role Isis changing in that region as well.

LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF

Ron Mark says there's more NZ can do in the Middle East, but first we'd have to be asked to stay.

"So often it's hard to determine what success would look like in such a changeable environment," she said.

"There's no doubt New Zealand's contribution has been significant and long."

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Ron Mark said there's more work Kiwis can do in the Middle East.

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Defence Minister Ron Mark visited Camp Taji in Iraq, where Kiwi troops are stationed, in February 2018.

Mark said in order to stop a resurgence of Isis or a similar extremist organisation, it was important Iraq rebuilt strong physical and social infrastructure, including schools, social services and a corruption-free Government.

Iraq was still not a settled political environment.

Parliamentary elections were held on May 12, but the Iraqi Parliament ordered a manual recount of the results on June 6. The situation was further complicated by a fire at Iraq's biggest ballot paper storage depot, which Iraqi authorities were yet to comment on whether they thought the blaze was deliberate.

Helping settle the situation in Iraq was not just a job for military, Mark said.

"New Zealand has a lot of expertise and it's possible we could help in a number of areas."

But first New Zealand would need to be asked, and then Cabinet would have to consider any requests for assistance in this area.

NZDF's Iraq deployment is due to expire in November, but a decision on the deployment was expected to be made ahead of the November end-date.

National Party defence spokesman Mark Mitchell said "the last thing we should be doing is leaving".

Mitchell agreed with Mark the transition and stabilisation phase was crucial.

"If you don't get the stabilisation piece right then all it's going to do is create another vacuum, and you'll see Isis back in there again."

The Government needed to make a decision on its Middle East deployments sooner, rather than later, he said.

Mark said the Afghanistan mission would need to be considered in conjunction with the situation in Iraq, and the wider region.

"This approach will allow us to consider further advice on Afghanistan in light of these other deployment decisions...

"It makes sense to look at our overall contribution to the Middle East as one package of work and make decisions looking at the big picture.

"We will work closely with our allies over the next few months before making a final decision by the end of September," he said.

Some aspects and incident during New Zealand's Middle East deployments have been controversial. In April, Attorney-General David Parker announced an inquiry into Operation Burnham - a raid on a village in Afghanistan in 2010, which included NZ SAS troops and resulted in civilian casualties - detailed in the book Hit and Run.

When asked whether the Afghanistan mission had been successful, Mark said New Zealand's work had been "well received by NATO and the local authorities".

"Bamyan province was the first area of Afghanistan handed back to Government control, and that's a testament to the work put in by our people on the ground."

New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) values and training methods had also been "well received" by the Afghan Government, he said.

It was a similar situation in Iraq.

"When I travelled [to Iraq] earlier this year I was repeatedly told by Government representatives that our troops had made a huge difference, and that our way of training was producing results."

NZDF's biggest achievement had been its use of New Zealand culture and values to form relationships with local authorities, he said.

"New Zealanders are trusted and valued and our people are fantastic ambassadors for our country. That and our training has helped save lives."

The mandate for the 11 person mission to the Afghan Army National Officer Academy's expires at the end of June 2018. New Zealand has been in Afghanistan since 2001, with over 3500 personnel having served.

The mandate for the deployment of two staff officers to the NATO resolute support mission headquarters in Kabul expires in June 2019.

Meanwhile, other missions across Africa and the Middle East, including South Sudan, Israel and Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Sinai, and the United Arab Emirates were also due to end this year.

 - Stuff