Kazakh defense minister meets commander of US Central Command.

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ASTANA, April 5 (Itar-Tass) - Kazakh Defense Minister Adilbek
Dzhaksybekov and Commander of the US Central Command Gen. David Petraeus
have met in Astana to discuss problems of training of Kazakh servicemen in
different military schools and training centers of the US Armed Forces.
The discussion was held in the framework of a five- year Plan of
cooperation signed by the defense departments of the two countries, the
press service of the Kazakh defense ministry said.
The Plan envisages more than 10 million dollars in allocations to the
training of more than 360 servicemen in 30 specialties. Earlier,
twenty-two servicemen from Kazakhstan underwent training in the West Point
military academy and command colleges of the US Armed Forces. The US
National Defense University has already trained 23 servicemen from
Kazakhstan.
The Plan of military exercises between the defense departments of
Kazakhstan and the United States for 2010 envisages many events, including
the 2010 Steppe Eagle international tactical peace-keeping exercises that
meet the principles of peace-keeping activities.
Earlier, the US embassy said that David Petraeus would express
gratitude for the work carried out by Kazakhstan in support of coalition
efforts in Afghanistan and discuss ways of closer cooperation between the
two countries in the field of security, including problems of
reconstruction and stability in Afghanistan.
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