UNIPATH STAFF
To improve military preparedness in the face of emerging threats, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has instructed the Kazakh Ministry of Defense to overhaul the country’s Soviet-era command structure.
Tokayev made the announcement at a Defense Ministry meeting on March 2, 2022, a week after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Kazakhstan shares a long border with Russia, which controlled Kazakhstan in the czarist and Soviet eras.
During the meeting, defense officials addressed the need to provide troops with up-to-date military equipment and better training. The president stressed the need to raise the performance of the military command system, enlisting the latest digital technology to accomplish that task. He also expressed support for improving military education and training and assessing military promotions based on merit and competence.
Military careers are not as prestigious as they once were, Tokayev said, so he suggested Kazakhstan promote military service as an honorable profession.
In light of Russian hostilities against Ukraine, Kazakhstan sought to improve economic security. It expressed support for diversifying trade routes through the Trans-Caspian Trade Corridor.
By sending cargo across the Caspian Sea and onward through Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus, it can reduce dependence on lengthier trips through Russia. Source: Akorda
Kazakh troops participate in a military exercise in April 2022. The country’s president is touting the benefits of military modernization.
REUTERS