Rear Admiral Sayyari met with Mukhtarov in Astana on Monday and conferred with the Kazakh defense official on the capacities of the two Caspian Sea littoral states to further their defense cooperation.
General Mukhtarov hailed bilateral ties between Iran and Kazakhstan as “friendly and growing”, saying that the two countries should cooperate to counter security threats, particularly terrorism and extremism, and help settle regional disputes peacefully.
Earlier on Monday, Sayyari held a meeting with Kazakhstan’s Navy Commander General Zhandarbek Zhanzakov.
During the meeting, Sayyari voiced Tehran’s readiness to cooperate with Astana on naval training, exchange of experience, reciprocal visits of naval fleets, and counter-terrorism in the Caspian Sea.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Sayyari arrived in Astana on Sunday night at the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart.
Back in October 2013, General Zhanzakov paid an official visit to Tehran to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defense cooperation.