DUSHANBE, April 23, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha is arriving in Dushanbe today for a two-day working visit, according to the MFA information department.
During his stay in Dushanbe, the CSTO secretary general is scheduled to hold talks with Security Council Secretary Amirqul Azimov, Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev, Chairman of the State Committee for National Security Khairiddin Abdurahimov, Interior Minister Abdurahim Qahhorov and Chairman of the Committee for Emergency Situations Khaidbullo Latipov to discuss issues related to providing and strengthening regional security, further improvement of activities of the Organization, military-economic cooperation between member nations, as well as the situation in Afghanistan, the source said.
The regional security organization was initially formed in 1992 for a five-year period by the members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which were joined by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus the following year. A 1994 treaty reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force, and prevented signatories from joining any other military alliances or other groups of states directed against member states. The CST was then extended for another five-year term in April 1999, and was signed by the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. In October 2002, the group was renamed as the CSTO. Uzbekistan joined the organization in 2006.
