CSTO States to agree on priorities for personnel training, armament, industrial cooperation in Astana
The Kazakh capital is hosting the 23rd meeting of the Interstate Commission on Military and Economic Cooperation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), focusing on joint initiatives in military-economic interaction and ways to enhance the Organization’s regulatory framework, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The meeting is set to summarize the outcomes of the previous meeting in Bishkek and identify priority areas of cooperation for 2026.
In his opening remarks, Kazakh Defense Deputy Minister Shaikh-Khasan Zhazykbayev said: “Military-economic cooperation is key for collective security and defense capacity of the member states.”
Attendees of the event include delegations from the CSTO member states, representatives of ministries of defense, industry, foreign affairs and education, heads of leading defense enterprises, research and educational institutions, as well as officials from the CSTO Secretariat, and the Commission’s executive agencies.
A set of issues, requiring practical interaction, are on the agenda. In particular, personnel training for defense enterprises will be discussed. It is important to promote partnership between research and educational institutions, as well as simplified student learning mechanisms on favorable condition, said Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
The speaker said a uniform build-up of engineering and foreign economic expertise is crucial for synchronizing the development pace of defense sectors of the CSTO members, highlighting its role in expanding research and industrial cooperation on manufacture, upgrade and repair of military equipment.
Manturov believes another aspect of defense enterprises’ efficient integration is unified approaches to arms and military equipment standardization.
The meeting also focuses on creating an interstate system of cataloging of supplies to the armed forces of the CSTO member states, with the classification of economic activities as a key element.
The participants of the event expressed their support to hold congress and exhibition events and for the initiative to organize the second CSTO Miliary and Economic Conference in June next year in Minsk.
Earlier, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar held a meeting with his Russian counterpart Denis Manturov, who arrived in Kazakhstan on a working visit.