MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. Heads of military education management bodies from defense agencies of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries, who gathered in Astana, discussed ways to reinforce the joint military personnel training system, CSTO Joint Staff Spokesman Vladislav Shchegrikovich told TASS.

"During the event, officials conducted an in-depth exchange of views on organizing military personnel and specialist training. They discussed proposals to enhance collaboration between military educational institutions and developed several recommendations to improve the joint training system for CSTO member countries," the statement said.

Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, delivered a video address to the event participants. He highlighted that a network of foundational training, methodological, and research organizations had been established in CSTO countries "to optimize the effectiveness of the educational process and improve research activities for the development of the CSTO’s military."

"The status of basic training and methodological organizations has been granted to 12 military educational institutions," Serdyukov emphasized. "Eight specialized research organizations and military educational institutions have been designated as core research centers for scientific and practical work on developing, improving, training, and deploying forces and resources. The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is the leading institution among the CSTO’s basic training and research organizations," he added.

A meeting of the working group under the CSTO Defense Ministers Council on coordinating joint military personnel training and scientific work was held under the chairmanship of Major General Igor Muravlannikov, Head of the Military Education Department and Deputy Head of the Main Personnel Department of the Russian Defense Ministry. The event brought together heads of military education management bodies from the defense agencies of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, as well as representatives of training and research organizations, a group of officers from the CSTO Joint Staff led by Lieutenant General Ruslan Shpekbayev, and members of the CSTO Secretariat.