Astana, Aug 26 (IANS) Indian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Sailas Thangal, called on Kazakh Defence Minister Dauren Kossanov, with the two sides reviewing the growing defence partnership between India and Kazakhstan and exploring future areas of collaboration in the defence sector.

According to the Indian Embassy in Astana, the discussions on Tuesday marked a significant step forward in expanding the defence partnership between the two countries.

Sharing the details of the meeting, the Indian Embassy on Wednesday posted on X: “Apart from mutually noting the robust defence cooperation between India and Kazakhstan & synergising future areas of cooperation, defence industrial cooperation was also discussed in detail. Special emphasis were laid on more exchanges of courses, capacity building initiatives by India and participation in defence industry seminar being organised by EoI Astana on 15 Oct 26. The meeting is an important marker of the ascendant defence bilateral cooperation between India and Kazakhstan.”

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indo-Kazakh Defence Cooperation is carried out under the framework of an agreement on ‘Defence and Military Technical Cooperationʼ signed in 2015. Bilateral defence cooperation comprises military-technical cooperation, military education and training, joint exercises, bilateral visits, joint sports and adventure activities and a Youth Exchange Programme (YEP) between National Cadet Corps (NCC) and the Voenni Kafedra (cadet corps) in Kazakhstan.

Earlier in March, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit held a meeting with Kazakhstan's Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Zhazykbayev Shaikh-Khassan in New Delhi, with discussions focused on strengthening defence cooperation and exploring new ways to engage in niche domains, C-UAS and training exchanges.

The two sides reaffirmed commitment to expand defence partnership through continued and focused engagements.

"Major General Zhazykbayev Shaikh-Khassan, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, called-on Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, CISC. The interaction focused on strengthening Defence Cooperation and exploring new avenues for engagements in niche domains, C-UAS (Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems) and training exchanges. Both sides reaffirmed commitment to expand the partnership through continued and focused engagements," the Headquarters of Integrated Defence Staff stated on X.

In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakhstan's counterpart Olzhas Bektenov reviewed bilateral cooperation in a range of fields, including political, trade, defence and security, connectivity, energy, emerging technologies, and people-to-people ties.

In the meeting, which took place on the margins of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi appreciated participation of Bektenov in the AI Impact Summit, which underscores the shared commitment of both nations to leverage technology for social good, and economic growth.

--IANS

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