Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Kazakhstan's armed forces jointly with the U.S. and the U.K will hold a special tactical peacekeeping exercise on August 10, Novosti-Kazakhstan quoted official representative of the Central Communications Service under the Kazakh President, Altay Abibullayev, as saying on August 5.

The annual Steppe Eagle peacekeeping exercise will be held not far from the Kazakh city of Almaty.

According to Abibullayev, the exercises are aimed at improving the skills of military officers, development of solutions to carry out peacekeeping operations, organizing military operations, as well as developing high moral and psychological qualities and physical endurance among the servicemen, etc.

It was reported earlier that the exercises will be held at the Illisky training facility near Almaty.

The Steppe Eagle exercise is an annual peacekeeping exercise conducted within the framework of NATO's Partnership for Peace program and aimed at implementation of the individual action and partnership plan signed on January 31, 2006.

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 U.K and Tajikistan, as well as representatives of Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, France, Ukraine and Switzerland.

Kazakhstan is strengthening its military power. In May, Kazakhstan held its first huge military parade. The parade involved 7,000 servicemen, over 400 armored vehicles and automotive equipment, more than 80 aircraft and helicopters.

Furthermore, the Kazakh Defense Ministry said on August 2 that Kazakhstan's naval forces have carried out military exercises in the Caspian Sea. The military exercises in the Caspian continue. Kazakhstan's Navy is increasing the pace of training and preparing to carry out new tasks.

The fleet of the Central Asian state's Navy includes ​​hydrographic, rocket and artillery and mine-sweeping ships. The rocket-artillery ship "Kazakhstan" is the first offspring of the Kazakh national defense industry complex. It was launched to water a year ago from the stocks of the Ural Plant of Zenith. In April 2013, the Zenith plant manufactured another vessel, the artillery ship "Oral".

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.