New Delhi. Defence Minister of Kazakhstan General Nurlan Yermekbayev alongwith his delegation visited Jodhpur and Jaisalmer as a part of the travel plan to India with a focus on boosting bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) press statement said on April 7.

Both countries share common interests of actively combating the threat of global terrorism and maintaining peace.

The Kazakh Defence Minister reached Jodhpur on the first day of his visit. Lieutenant General JS Nain, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Southern Command interacted with the Defence Minister and the delegation. The Army Commander during his interaction with the delegation said that “India and Kazakhstan hold a special partnership which is based on trust, confidence and mutual understanding. Both the countries share a common vision on issues affecting peace and stability in the world.”

The visit of Defence Minister General Nurlan Yermekbayev will foster greater military to military contact and cooperation between Kazakhstan and India.

Kazakhstan Defence Minister is on an official visit to India from April 7-10. Besides meetings, the minister is scheduled to visit various defence establishments.

Lieutenant General Nurlan Yermekbayev will hold a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on April 9. This will be the first meeting after Lieutenant General Nurlan Yermekbayev was re-appointed as Defence Minister of Kazakhstan, the statement added.

The two Ministers had last met in Moscow on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting on September 5 last year. The Kazakh Defence Minister is in India on the invitation of Defence Minister Singh.