NATO envoy goes to Kazakhstan to discuss cooperation

ASTANA, May 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Official NATO Representative for the
Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai will travel to Kazakhstan on
Thursday, May 12, to discuss bilateral cooperation.
Appathurai, who will go to Astana from neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, will
stay in Kazakhstan until May 14.
"During the visit, he will have a number of meetings at ministries and
agencies of Kazakhstan, during which the sides will discuss interaction
between the North Atlantic Alliance and our country under the individual
partnership action plan and exchange view on the current situation in
Central Asia," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
This is the second individual partnership action plan between NATO and
Kazakhstan, which started their cooperation in 1992 after the republic's
admission to the North Atlantic Cooperation Council, which was reorganised
into the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997. The partnership action
plan was approved in January 2006. Kazakhstan was the fourth CIS country -
after Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia -- to have adopted this format of
cooperation.
The second partnership action plan seeks to strengthen regional and
international security, modernise the Armed Forces, increase
interoperability, and develop cooperation in the fields of science,
civilian emergency planning, environmental protection, and the fight
against terrorism.
Kazakhstan cooperates with NATO under the Partnership for Peace
programme which it joined on May 27, 1994.
In January 2010, an agreement was signed to allow the transit of
cargoes to Afghanistan for the alliance and military contingents from
partner countries through Kazakhstan.
On May 4, 2011, Kazakhstan ratified an agreement with the United
States on air transit of cargoes and personnel through its territory to
Afghanistan. The U.S. had made about 10,000 transit flights through
Kazakhstan by that time under previous memorandums with the U.S.,
according to Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Omarov.
"The agreement aims to coordinate efforts towards stabilization of the
the situation in Afghanistan, which will have a positive effect on
security in the whole of Central Asia," he said.