Oman, Kazakhstan to strengthen military cooperation

The Sultanate of Oman and Kazakhstan discussed ways of promoting joint military cooperation yesterday, during an official visit by a military delegation to Astana, led by Brigadier General Hamid bBn Abdullah Al-Balushi who is the assistant chief of Staff of the Sultan’s Armed Forces for Operations and Planning.

During the visit, the Omani military delegation met with officers at the General Staff of the Kazakh Armed Forces, reported the Oman News Agency (ONA), including his Kazakh counterpart, Colonel Dauren Manap.

The Deputy Head of the Operational Planning Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, Colonel Dauren Manap, met with the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Planning of the Armed Forces of the Sultanate of Oman,

— Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan (@modgovkz) August 15, 2023

The development comes as Muscat looks to develop stronger ties with the Central Asian republic. In February Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister – Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi paid an official visit to the Sultanate, where he met with Omani counterparts to bolster cooperation in trade, economic and investment.

Tileuberdi’s visit was the first in 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. “The Sultanate of Oman is one of the first states that supported Kazakhstan in the first years of independence. We attach great importance to cooperation with your country,” said Tileuberdi at the time.

Last month Muscat hosted the opening ceremony of the launch of direct flights between the Omani capital and the Kazakh city of Almaty by Oman’s low-cost airline Salam Air. This was the first time in the history of bilateral relations of the two countries that direct flights had been established.

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