Kazakhstan to assume CSTO chairmanship next year
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attended the expanded meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council, Kazinform News Agency cites Akorda.
Welcoming the meeting’s participants, Tokayev pointed out the high level of the CSTO Collective Security Council meeting and expressed gratitude to the Belarusian side and personally to Alexander Lukashenko.
The Head of State stated that Kazakhstan is to assume the CSTO chairmanship starting from January 1, 2024. To this end, the Kazakh leader proposed a number of priority areas to focus the Organization’s activity during the Kazakh chairmanship.
Firstly, CSTO’s cooperation with interested countries and international organizations in the security sphere. It’s proposed to focus on maintaining the accumulated level of cooperation with the UN and its structures. This work is carried out based on the Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the CSTO and UN Secretaries of March 18, 2010. We support further strengthening of cooperation with the CIS and SCO. The specific steps for this are defined in the practical measures for strengthening cooperation of the CSTO with the CIS and SCO, said Tokayev.
The second key area of work is proposed to be military cooperation, said the Kazakh President.
This refers to unhindered and non-stop transit of contingents, military aviation flights and other aspects. It is also necessary to continue developing the system of military personnel training and military and scientific potential of the CSTO member countries. The special focus is proposed to be placed on unlocking peacekeeping potential of the Organization, said Tokayev.
Other priorities of Kazakhsan's CSTO chairmanship include cooperation against international terrorism and extremism, illegal drug, psychoactive substances and weapons trafficking, organized transnational crime, as well as deepening cooperation on prevention and elimination of consequences of emergency situations, and fight against crimes in the information technologies sphere.
Tokayev expressed confidence that the comprehensive work on strengthening and further developing the system of collective security is to be continued through joint efforts of the Organization’s member countries.
Following the meeting, a number of documents were adopted.
