Military-industrial ministry may be established in Kazakhstan

The Head of State informed the Ministry's staff about appointment of Saken Zhasuzakov as Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan and emphasized a special role of the army on prevention and neutralization of today's threats.

"Next year, we will mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan which will be an important milestone in the history of our country. Army is the main guarantor of the republic's sovereignty. Amid uneasy conditions in the region and in the world, the role of the armed forces increases. The threat of international terrorism, hybrid wars and race of arms make us focus on national security issues," said Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The Kazakh President outlined a number of priority areas requiring special attention:

"We need to improve military discipline, social provision of servicemen and maintain high combat readiness of the Kazakh army. Provision of modern equipment and vehicles will be also in spotlight. All required finances will be allocated for this purpose. We must to create our own military-technical industry. In this regard, we will discuss the issue of reorganization of an appropriate structure into a special military-industrial corporation or a ministry.

According to the President, one more important aspect is formation of a new generation of servicemen.

"Special education institutions and universities were established for this purpose. Now we must upgrade the quality of training the servicemen," he stressed.

Introducing new Minister of Defense S.Zhasuzakov, the Head of State noted his huge experience and professional skills.

Nursultan Nazarbayev thanked former Defense Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov for the work he had done at this post and congratulated on his appointment as Deputy PM.