Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Kazakhstan is the most active partner of NATO in the region, the alliance`s special envoy for the Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai, said at a meeting with Kazakh Defense Minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov in Astana, the ministry said on Tuesday.

The meeting was held with the participation of NATO's new liaison officer for Central Asia Alexander Vinnikov.

"The Ministry of Defense welcomes the resumption of the work of the liaison officer in the region. I am sure it will contribute to the effective coordination of our cooperation with the alliance," Dzhaksybekov said.

Dzhaksybekov said that training of peacekeeping units in order to ensure their interoperability is a priority for Kazakhstan in its cooperation with NATO.

Appathurai, in turn, said that the North Atlantic Alliance highly appreciates the training level of Kazakhstan's armed forces.

He expressed NATO's interest in further enhancement of bilateral defense cooperation and said the alliance would provide its full support.

The annual 'Steppe Eagle' peacekeeping exercise is being conducted on the territory of Kazakhstan with the participation of its military officers and representatives of foreign countries in the framework of NATO's Individual Partnership Action Plans.

In September 2012, the exercise was first conducted in the spirit of NATO's Partnership for Peace program with the participation of units of the armed forces of Kazakhstan, the U.S., the United Kingdom and Tajikistan, as well as representatives of Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, France, Ukraine and Switzerland.

"We are interested in increasing the participation of units of NATO member states and partner countries in the exercise and are relying on the support of NATO in this issue," Dzhaksybekov said.

A 'Partnership for Peace' training center of the Military Institute of Land Forces was established in Kazakhstan in order to teach NATO standards and procedures to Kazakh military officers.

More than 30 courses and seminars have been held on the basis of the military institution with the participation of military officers of Kazakhstan, NATO member states and partner countries.