CSTO officials to discuss coalition cooperation issues

MOSCOW, July 25 (Itar-Tass) - Representatives of countries member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) at the level of the deputy foreign, defence, finance ministers and secretaries of Security Councils will hold consultations in Moscow on Friday.

The press service of the CSTO Secretariat told Itar-Tass that the "meeting participants will discuss the issue of activities of the Interstate Working Group on the creation of the unified system of technical protection of railways of CSTO members."In the military cooperation sphere the deputy defence ministers will discuss proposals on the improvement of the military component of the organisation. Among them are proposals on the creation of the united troops group of the Central-Asian region of collective security, as well as a plan of joint actions of the operational and combat training of the command echelon and contingents of armed forces of CSTO member states for 2009, the press service reported.

In the sphere of countering the challenges and threats, the CSTOstates' officials will consider drafts of the agreement on the training of personnel for law enforcement, fire-fighting, emergency-rescue and special services of the organisation's member countries, of the programme of joint action on the formation of the system of information security and a plan of collective actions aimed at the fulfilment of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy for 2008-2012.

The consultations participants will also discuss a draft decision on the intensification of the anti-drug activities within the CSTO framework.