President meets CSTO security council's secretaries, defense ministers
"The CSTO statutory bodies represented by you will discuss a wide range of issues, including the development of multilateral military cooperation, countering international terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration, and laying out approaches to coordinated information policy," the President of Kazakhstan pointed out.
Nursultan Nazarbayev underlined that the world and the region's military and political situation is still complicated, international terrorist organizations are active, and threats to the information space are growing.
The Head of State gave prominence to the crucial role of the defense ministries and the staff of the security councils in interstate coordination, improvement of collective mechanisms, cooperation in joint exercises and operations.
"Joint actions should be done in line with the approved directions and in strict compliance with the statutory tasks specified in the 2025 CSTO Development Strategy. The Collective Rapid Reaction Force created by us is always ready to fulfill the tasks assigned to it," said the President of Kazakhstan.
Nursultan Nazarbayev highlighted the results of the tactical-special exercises 'Cobalt-2018' held in Almaty region.
The Head of State emphasized the importance of developing specific programs and logistics plans for the Collective Rapid Reaction Force.
In addition, the President of Kazakhstan called for giving special attention to practical measures in terms of military-technical cooperation, using the opportunities of KADEX 2018 exhibition in this regard.
"For now, the number of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization has substantially increased, so we can expect qualitative improvements in its activities. Kazakhstan considers international terrorism to be the acutest problem within the CSTO's responsibility zone and in the world as a whole," the Head of State said.
The President of Kazakhstan underscored the effectiveness of collective efforts in the fight against international terrorism.
Besides, Nursultan Nazarbayev drew attention to the issues of expanding CSTO collaboration with the international community, making up effective measures to respond to potential threats, and ensuring information security and cybersecurity.
At the end of the meeting, the Head of State expressed confidence that the Council of Defense Ministers and the Committee of Security Council's Secretaries will make a significant contribution to the completion of the CSTO's common tasks.