Kazakhstan, Astana, July 10 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
On Tuesday, Defense Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Adilbek Dzhaksybekov met with United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
At the beginning of the meeting the defence minister congratulated the military delegation on the 236th day of American independence, and noted that a strategic partnership has been established between Kazakhstan and the United States, characterized by a wide range of cooperation in various fields, including military.
Speaking about cooperation in the sphere of defence and security, the parties stressed the importance of the five-year plan of cooperation, as part of which work is successfully underway in areas such as peacekeeping, training personnel, technical assistance and development of military education. Defence Minister Dzhaksybekov said participation of the American side in the annual peacekeeping exercise "Steppe Eagle" is highly appreciated.
This year implementation of the current Five-Year Plan of Military Cooperation ends. Representatives of the military departments actively cooperate in the development of the new - the third draft of the Plan for the forthcoming five-year period, whose signing is planned before the end of August this year.
"Kazakhstan considers ensuring its security through the prism of good-neighborly and peaceful policy pursued by the leadership of our country," Dzhaksybekov said. "President Nursultan Nazarbayev, paying particular attention to the development and modernization of the Armed Forces, set the task to build a small, highly mobile and technically equipped army. We therefore attach great importance to the study of the U.S. advance experience in defence activities and the scope of the armed forces."
Following the meeting the parties expressed confidence in further fruitful work.