430 Kazakh military servants will be sent as UN peacekeepers to the Central African Republic, Congo, Mali and Lebanon. Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov voiced the corresponding proposal by the country’s President at a joint session of the two houses of the Parliament. He pointed out that sending a contingent to the UN peacekeeping operations would not only make a significant contribution to strengthening global security, but also contribute to increasing the authority and role of Kazakhstan in the international arena.
“Since 2014, 45 officers have participated in the UN missions in Western Sahara, Côte d'Ivoire and Lebanon as military observers and staff officers. Since 2018, 520 Kazakh military servants have been on the mission of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon as part of the peacekeeping unit. Six and nine Kazakh soldiers are serving in the UN missions in Western Sahara and the interim forces in Lebanon, respectively. The UN leadership highly evaluates the level of training of our servicemen and expressed its readiness to support the increase in the number of Kazakh peacekeepers in UN missions,” Zhaksylykov said.
Zhaksylykov also spoke about the state support measures provided for the Kazakh military, which will be part of the peacekeeping contingent.
“In accordance with the Law, they are paid three times their salary during their participation, and after their return they will receive treatment at the expense of the state. An additional two weeks are added to the annual leave, and a month of service during participation is counted as one and a half months,” the minister added.
The members of both houses of the Parliament voted in favor of the President’s proposal.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova
