On Sept. 23, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov left for a working visit to Sochi (Russian Federation) to participate in the next session of the Collective Security Council (CSC) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The heads of delegations from Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Armenia discussed a wide range of issues on the further development of the CSTO. The leaders signed a package of documents on strengthening military cooperation between the CSTO member states and managing collective forces. In conclusion, the session participants signed a joint communique.
On Sept. 19, the international Media Congress Kazakhstan OnLike-2013 took place in Almaty. The organizers of the event were the Union of Journalists of Kazakhstan and the Internet Association of Kazakhstan with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan and the Central Communications Service under the President of Kazakhstan. Chief editors of the mass media, owners of internet resources, well-known media experts, bloggers, political scientists, heads of press services of different companies and state bodies from Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine took part in the event. The Kazakhstan OnLike-2013 media congress became a platform for experience exchange, the establishment of business contacts and the development of media partnerships. Besides, new modern approaches to the technical implementation of joint projects with the participants of media communities and application of their practical developments in the country were announced. Such topics as “New media and political communications”, “New media communications in the economy”, “The evolution of mass media: from paper to digital” and “Models of business for new mass media” were discussed at the event.
From Sept. 19-20, Moscow hosted the 59th session of the Economic Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kairat Kelimbetov took part in the session. Participants considered the draft Protocol on amendments to the Agreement on Rules for Determining the Country of Origin of Goods in the CIS as of October 20, 2009 and a draft Protocol on amendments to the Agreement on the Development of Exhibition and Fair Activities in the CIS as of May 26, 1995. The key macroeconomic indicators of CIS economic development were also reviewed at the session. A wide range of issues regarding budgets and finances, such as the draft single budget for CIS bodies for 2014 and draft amendments to the single budget of the CIS bodies for 2013 were also discussed.
The international congress “Central Asian Gastroenterological Week – the 2013 Congress of CIS Hepatologists” opened in Almaty on September 18. This was the first time such a large-scale event of an international level was held in Almaty. About 500 delegates and guests from over 20 countries took part in the conference. Leading experts in hepatology, surgery and endoscopy from Japan, Belarus, Holland and other European countries were among the participants of the event. The main purpose of the congress was to discuss the latest achievements in gastroenterology and hepatology and to get them put into use quickly. The conference was organized by the Research Institute of Cardiology and General Medicine of the Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Association for the Study of the Liver and the Association of Gastroenterologists, Nutritionists and Endoscopists.
Kazakhstan is going to spend over 570 million tenge ($3.7 million) on the Joint CIS Air Defense System (JADS), the press service of the Defense Ministry of Kazakhstan said.
