"The iconic silver bugles of The RIFLES have been heard across the Kazak Steppes sounding out their distinctive bugle calls to the Riflemen," British army, on training of Kazakh army in 2009.
Fergananews.com brings the news that the British defense minister is touring Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this week.
EurasiaNet doesn't have anything on this yet, but the government news wire Kazinform reports that Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond MP is meeting with President Nursaltan Nazarbayev.
They are talking in the usual Soviet-style comradely atmosphere about the usual vague topics like "educational exchange" and "regional security".
"Our military officials are studying in programs for military preparedness in Great Britain," enthused Nazarbayev.
Prime Minister David Cameron is going to visit Kazakhstan. No human rights groups anywhere appear to have made any statements, likely because they had no notice of the trip, just mentioned in the regional media today. Says Kazinform:
Peace-keeping occupies an important place in the military cooperation between Kazakhstan and Great Britain. Proof of this are the annual Steppe Eagle exercises. Kazakhstan has also made its contribution to the process of normalization of the situation in Iraq as a part of the Multi-national Froces, where the engineering mine-detection squad of the Kazakh Army received high recognition.
Most likely they talked about the war in Afghanistan, and the Northern Distribution Network, the cargo delivery route to NATO troops. But that's not mentioned in the official media.
There's only a terse announcement on the Uzbek Foreign Ministry site about Hammond's visit and we're not likely to get more from the Uzbek media. Latvia's defense minister just visited Uzbekistan, olam.uz reports.
Nothing on the British Ministry of Defence website, but you can read there about a British soldier's body armour which saved him from a Taliban's bullet -- the British are serious about fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, but they, too, are drawing down troops like the US.
You have to go into Google cache to get this story about a House of Commons parliamentary questioning of Hammond about Uzbekistan, but it's interesting:
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Uzbekistan on the withdrawal of UK military equipment from Afghanistan via rail; and if he will make a statement. [85226]
Mr Philip Hammond: There has been no ministerial-level engagement with the Uzbek authorities on the subject of the withdrawal of UK military equipment from Afghanistan by rail.
The highest level engagement by Ministry of Defence officials has been by the assistant chief of Defence staff (Logistic Operations), the two-star military officer responsible for the support of UK forces in Afghanistan and the efficient and cost-effective draw-down of those forces. As part of a wider programme of liaison with countries in central Asia, the present and previous incumbents of that post have visited Uzbekistan three times, in August 2010, March 2011 and November 2011, to conduct discussions with Uzbek officials, including the Defence Minister. These discussions have included the role that Uzbekistan might play in the draw-down of UK forces in Afghanistan but to date no decisions have been taken on the way forward.
Will they get a decision with this visit?
US and Kazakh Soldiers in the Steppe Eagle exercises in 2009, NATO's Partnership for Peace.
