Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her three-day visit to boosted defence ties with Kazakhstan as she met her Kazakh counterpart Beibut Atamkulov and discussed a wide range of issues relating to defence and military-technical cooperation and took stock of the progress that this bilateral relationship has made since the renewal of the MoU on defence cooperation in January 2017.
Sitharaman also inspected a Tri-Services Guard of Honour at the Ministry of Defence and also visited the National Defence University where she was shown the Indian Military Art Room (IMAR), which has been established with Indian assistance.
India and Kazakhstan Defence Cooperation include military-technical cooperation, military education and training, joint military exercises, bilateral exchange of visits and cadet youth exchange programs. Over 200 Kazakh Defence Forces Personnel has undergone military training in India till date.
Both countries successfully conducted a company level joint military exercise ‘KAZIND-2018’ in South Kazakhstan, last month. India and Kazakhstan are bound by historical and cultural ties and this has laid a strong foundation for the multifaceted cooperation. Both countries are Strategic Partners since 2009.
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During her visit, Nirmala Sitharaman also discussed issues relating to defence production with the Minister for Defence and Aerospace Industry. In this connection, the possibilities of joint production and/or co-production were discussed based upon the relative strengths and experience of both sides.
She also discussed regional developments with the Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov. The Kazakhstan FM appreciated India’s position and experience as a major force in UN Peace Keeping and contributor peacebuilding in various parts of the world under the UN mandate.