For the first time, the UN allowed our country to carry out an independent operation. The task will be mainly the commandant service and patrolling the territories, El.kz reports.
Specifically, we are talking about sending a contingent to South Sudan. This proposal was announced today by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ruslan Zhaksylykov during a meeting of the Parliament. Kazakhstan has the ability to send to UN missions both standard military units and specialized teams, including military medics, engineers and intelligence officers, numbering up to 430 people, along with military equipment and weapons.
With the decline in the number of peacekeeping missions, there has been increased competition among peacekeeping-contributing countries.
Ruslan Zhaksylykov expressed his opinion on the importance of strengthening Kazakhstan's position in the framework of UN peacekeeping activities and proposed a phased expansion of the participation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan in peacekeeping operations in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter. He mentioned possible activities in the Middle East, South Sudan and Abyei.
A decision on this issue will be made during today's joint sitting of both chambers of Parliament.