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Kazakhstan Increases Military Spending

By Aygul Ospanova May 7, 2018

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The increase in military spending in Kazakhstan comes amidst an increase in global military spending, and the highest since the Cold War.

Kazakhstan’s military expenditure totaled roughly $250 million in January-February 2018, up 20 percent from last year, according to the finance ministry.

“Although Kazakhstan is a peaceful country – and our neighbors are also peaceful nations – the fact that we pursue such a policy does not mean that we should be weak,” President Nursultan Nazarbayev said Thursday while meeting with military personnel and law enforcement officers.

“In today’s world, everything is changing rapidly, and no one knows what will happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. But [we] must keep our gunpowder dry, always be ready and trained,” Nazarbayev said.

The increase in military spending in Kazakhstan comes amidst an increase in global military spending, and the highest since the Cold War. According data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditures amounted to $1.739 trillion in 2017. The United States, China and Saudi Arabia topped the list.

While Kazakhstan was not specifically mentioned in the most recent report issued by SIPRI, the military strength of the country was ranked 50 among 136 countries according to the 2018 Global Firepower rankings, making it the second strongest in the Central Asia region, behind Uzbekistan.

Astana’s defense budget is $2.435 billion, ranking it the world’s 59th largest defense spender worldwide, and putting it behind its Caspian region neighbors Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan. It outpaced only Turkmenistan in the region, which came in at 104, having allocated $200 million for defense purposes.

According to the SIPRI report, Kazakhstan’s army is equipped with 300 tanks, 744 artillery units, 393 missile launchers, 214 military aircraft, 15 military naval vessels and 18 combat helicopters.

Eighty percent of Kazakhstani military-technical purchases are from Russia, considered the second-largest military power in the world after the U.S. Kazakhstan purchased lightweight MiG-29 fighters, Su-25 attack aircraft, Su-27 and Su-30MK fighters, IL-76 military transport planes and Mi-8/17 helicopters, BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, BTR-80A and other products from Russia in recent years.

When designing the report, researchers from Global Fire Power have considered such indicators as the strength of individual combat arms, number of servicemen, length of borders, as well as oil reserves and labor availability. Experts believe some of these indicators, including Kazakhstan’s manpower rankings, prevented it from topping the list of the strongest in the region.

Although Kazakhstan is considered Central Asia’s largest country, its population amounts roughly 18.4 million, making it second populated country in the region behind Uzbekistan, with its 32.3 million people.

“The air force and air defense level in Kazakhstan are several times higher than in the rest of the region,” Andrei Grozin, head of the department of Central Asia and Kazakhstan at the Institute of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, said, according to a story published by CentrAsia.

“And this is completely justified because everyone understands perfectly well that it is the air forces – including electronic, terrestrial, space, and any other intelligence forces – that is an outweighing indicator in a modern warfare.”

Meanwhile, the Moscow-based expert believes that the long-lasting partnership between Kazakhstan and Russia should not be underestimated. The two neighboring countries are working within a 2013 agreement worth $300 million, which is centered on military-technical cooperation. In addition to the 2013 agreement, Kazakhstan purchased 12 Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter jets in 2017.

“We should not forget that Kazakhstan has a very serious bonus in the form of a long-term partnership with Russia, which provides the country with modernized technology, ranging from barrel and rocket artillery to tanks. At the same time, we must understand that this is not the same [equipment] as Russia has, where the same process is much faster and more extensive,” Grozin said.