On 6 March 2020, the Concept of the Foreign Policy of Kazakhstan for 2020–2030 was

announced. The document outlines the following main points:

 An open, predictable and consistent foreign policy of the country, which is

progressive in nature and maintains its endurance by continuing the course of
the First President – the country at a new stage of development;
 Protection of human rights, development of humanitarian diplomacy and
environmental protection;
 Promotion of the country's economic interests in the international arena,
including the implementation of state policy to attract investment;
 Maintaining international peace and security;
 Development of regional and multilateral diplomacy, which primarily involves
strengthening mutually beneficial ties with key partners – Russia, China, the
United States, Central Asian states and the EU countries, as well as through
multilateral structures – the United Nations, the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the
Commonwealth of Independent States, and others.[110]

Member states of the Collective Security Treaty

Organization (CSTO)
Kazakhstan's memberships of international organisations include:

 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

 Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
 Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
 Individual Partnership Action Plan, with NATO, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro
 Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community. (The national language, Kazakh,
is related to the other Turkic languages, with which it shares cultural
and historical ties)
 United Nations
 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
 UNESCO, where Kazakhstan is a member of its World Heritage Committee[111]
 Nuclear Suppliers Group as a participating government
 World Trade Organization[112]
 Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)[113]
Based on these principles, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,
Kazakhstan has increasingly pursued an independent foreign policy, defined by its own
foreign policy objectives and ambitions[114][115] through which the country attempts to balance
its relations with "all the major powers and an equally principled aversion towards
excessive dependence in any field upon any one of them, while also opening the country
up economically to all who are willing to invest there."[116]
Military
Main article: Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
 Kazakhstan Republican Guard

A Kazakhstan Sukhoi Su-27

Most of Kazakhstan's military was inherited from the Soviet Armed Forces' Turkestan
Military District. These units became the core of Kazakhstan's new military. It acquired all
the units of the 40th Army (the former 32nd Army) and part of the 17th Army Corps,
including six land-force divisions, storage bases, the 14th and 35th air-landing brigades,
two rocket brigades, two artillery regiments, and a large amount of equipment that had
been withdrawn from over the Urals after the signing of the Treaty on Conventional Armed
Forces in Europe. Since the late 20th century, the Kazakhstan Army has focused on
expanding the number of its armoured units. Since 1990, armoured units have expanded
from 500 to 1,613 in 2005.
The Kazakh air force is composed mostly of Soviet-era planes, including 41 MiG-29s,
44 MiG-31s, 37 Su-24s and 60 Su-27s. A small naval force is maintained on the Caspian
Sea.[117]
Kazakhstan sent 29 military engineers to Iraq to assist the US post-invasion mission in
Iraq.[118] During the second Iraq War, Kazakhstani troops dismantled 4 million mines and
other explosives, helped provide medical care to more than 5,000 coalition members and
civilians, and purified 718 cubic metres (25,400 cu ft) of water.[119]
Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (UQK) was established on 13 June 1992. It
includes the Service of Internal Security, Military Counterintelligence, Border Guard,
several Commando units, and Foreign Intelligence (Barlau). The latter is considered the
most important part of KNB. Its director is Nurtai Abykayev.
Since 2002, the joint tactical peacekeeping exercise "Steppe Eagle" has been hosted by
the Kazakhstan government. "Steppe Eagle" focuses on building coalitions and gives
participating nations the opportunity to work together. During the Steppe Eagle exercises,
the KAZBAT peacekeeping battalion operates within a multinational force under a unified
command within multidisciplinary peacekeeping operations, with NATO and the U.S.
Military.[120]
In December 2013, Kazakhstan announced it will send officers to support United Nations
Peacekeeping forces in Haiti, Western Sahara, Ivory Coast and Liberia.[121]