
MOSCOW, 10 January (BelTA) – State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Aleksandr Volfovich went to Moscow to introduce the newly appointed Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Imangali Tasmagambetov to top officials of the CSTO Secretariat, the CSTO Joint Staff, and permanent and plenipotentiary representatives of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states on 10 January. Aleksandr Volfovich acted upon instructions of Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, BelTA has learned.
Belarus has been presiding over the Collective Security Treaty Organization since November 2022. This is why Aleksandr Volfovich was entrusted with the job of the chairman of the CSTO Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils. According to the established procedure, Kazakhstan's representative became the CSTO secretary general in January 2023 and will do the job for a period of three years. Aleksandr Volfovich remarked that Imangali Tasmagambetov was appointed CSTO Secretary General unanimously by the CSTO Collective Security Council in November 2022. Belarus' representative Stanislav Zas worked as the CSTO Secretary General in 2020-2022.

While talking to reporters, Aleksandr Volfovich described Kazakhstan's decision to nominate Imangali Tasmagambetov for the position of the CSTO Secretary General as a wise decision. Imangali Tasmagambetov has huge experience: he went from a simple teacher to the head of the Kazakhstan President Administration and the head of the government, he has also worked in diplomatic sphere and military sphere. “His appointment will contribute to the development of the CSTO Secretariat, to the accomplishment of the tasks the Collective Security Treaty Organization is entrusted with, primarily peace building and security on the regional scale and the global scale,” Aleksandr Volfovich said.
Aleksandr Volfovich conveyed the Belarus president's congratulations on the appointment to Imangali Tasmagambetov. In turn, the new CSTO secretary general thanked the CSTO heads of state for their trust.
Imangali Tasmagambetov said: “The world is witnessing major geopolitical challenges and very complex political, economic, and other problems will have to be solved. No less difficult tasks face our organization. All these challenges and problems affect the key role of our organization, its authority and ability to be an effective mechanism for ensuring regional security. Its future prestige and effectiveness depend on us. Despite all the challenges, I am deeply convinced that there is no alternative for the CSTO, it is capable of solving the tasks assigned to it.”
Aleksandr Volfovich also talked to Imangali Tasmagambetov as part of the event. The two officials discussed topical matters of international security and regional security, exchanged opinions about the situation in the CSTO responsibility area, discussed current challenges and threats in the Eastern Europe collective security region, the Central Asia collective security region, and the Caucasus collective security region. Close attention was paid to the coordination of efforts to realize priority avenues of the CSTO work in 2023.