Belarus, Kazakhstan Confirm Interest in Intensifying Military-Technical Cooperation

On 25 November 2016, Minsk hosted the 7th meeting of the Sub-Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation of the Intergovernmental Belarus-Kazakhstan Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as “the Sub- Commission”).
The Kazakhstan delegation was led by Deputy Defence Minister of Kazakhstan Lt. Gen. Okas Saparov. The Belarusian part of the Sub-Commission was headed by Goscomvoyenprom Deputy Chairman Dmitry Pantus.
The parties confirmed their interest in further intensification of mutually beneficial military-technical cooperation between Belarus and Kazakhstan in areas of mutual interest, analysed the results of the implementation of agreements reached at the previous meeting, discussed further development of international legal and regulatory framework for bilateral military-technical cooperation, considered practical aspects of the implementation of joint projects and drew up a plan for future cooperation.
Okas Saparov thanked the Belarusian side for the support and active participation of Belarusian manufacturers in the KADEX 2016 arms and military equipment exhibition.
The Belarusian side invited Kazakh partners to participate in the 8th international arms exhibition MILEX 2017.
As part of the 7th Sub-Commission meeting, the Kazakhstan delegation visited a number of Goscomvoyenprom companies and defence sector companies where they familiarised themselves with companies’ capabilities in manufacturing military products and providing repair and upgrade services for armaments and military equipment.
The leaders of the Belarusian and Kazakh parts of the Sub-Commission signed a protocol, which identifies promising cooperation areas and specifies ways to implement planned projects.
Belarus-Kazakhstan relations are now at a high level of trust and bilateral strategic partnership.
Military-technical cooperation between Belarus and Kazakhstan is carried out both on a bilateral and multilateral basis – within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.
Basic documents in this sphere are the 1997 Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as intergovernmental agreements on military and military-technical cooperation of 1998.

Translated by Olga Klevko