The Head of State greeted all participants of the inter-sessional meetings of the Council of Defence Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils, which take place during Kazakhstan's chairmanship of the CSTO.
- The CSTO statutory bodies that you represent will consider a wide range of issues, including the development of multilateral cooperation in the military sphere, countering international terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration, and working out approaches to coordinated information policy, the President of Kazakhstan noted.
Nursultan Nazarbayev has stressed that the world and the region are still in a complicated military and political situation, international terrorist organizations are actively operating, and threats to the information space are growing.
The Head of State noted the important role of defence and security council establishments in interstate coordination, improvement of collective mechanisms, cooperation in joint exercises and operations.
- There should be joint activities as part of coordinated directions and in strict accordance with the statutory tasks specified in the CSTO Development Strategy until 2025. The Collective Rapid Response Forces, created by us, are always ready to fulfil the tasks assigned to them, the President of Kazakhstan said.
Nursultan Nazarbayev dwelled on the results of Cobalt-2018 Exercise, held in Almaty region.
The Head of State drew attention to the importance of developing specific programs and logistics plans for the Collective Rapid Reaction Force.
Also, the President of Kazakhstan called for paying special attention to practical measures in the sphere of military-technical cooperation, using the opportunities of exhibition KADEX-2018 for this purpose.
- Now the number of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization has substantially grown, so we can expect qualitative improvements in its work. Kazakhstan considers international terrorism to be the most acute problem in the CSTO responsibility zone and, in general, in the world, the Head of State said.
The President of Kazakhstan pointed out the effectiveness of collective efforts in the fight against international terrorism.
In addition, Nursultan Nazarbayev dwelled on the issues of expanding CSTO interaction with the international community, developing effective measures to respond to potential threats, as well as ensuring information and cybersecurity.
In conclusion, the Head of State has expressed his confidence that the Council of Defence Ministers and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils will make a significant contribution to the solution of the common tasks of the CSTO.
