Kazakhstan, Tatarstan eye promising areas of military cooperation

President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustan Minnikhanov met with Defense Minister of Kazakhstan Imangali Tasmagambetov during his working visit to Astana on Monday. At the meeting, the sides mainly focused on bilateral military and technical cooperation between the two republics. "We are interested in expanding cooperation with the Kazakh Aviation plant. Earlier Kazakhstan purchased Mi-17B5 helicopters assembled by the plant and now it wants the Kazan aircraft maker to provide technical maintenance of these helicopters," Minister Tasmagambetov said. The sides also discussed the needs of Kazakhstani and Tatar military enterprises and promising areas for further cooperation in detail.