DUSHANBE, March 13, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Experts from member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have considered proposals made by member nations to the draft military-economic cooperation program designed for 2009-2015 at the ongoing consultations on military-technical and military-economic cooperation in Moscow, press release issued  the CSTO Secretariat today said.

Deputy Secretary General of the CSTO, Valery Semerikov, who is presiding over the meeting, noted the program reflects concerted views on goals, objectives and priorities of a medium-term military-economic cooperation within the CSTO area.  Combination and coordination of efforts of the member nations to expand cooperation in developing and producing military precuts were outlined are the main objective of the program, press release said.  

The meeting participants have discussed proposals made by member nations to the draft agreements on preservation of specialization of enterprises and organizations involving in production of military products,  general principles of the establishment of interstate scientific-production associations for production of military products, and cooperation between the CSTO states on transit of military cargo in the interest of military-technical and military-economic cooperation, transportation of special cargo.

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 members 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