08.11.2018 The photo exhibition “Under the Common Sky of Iraq: Kazakhstan and Polish Peacekeepers”
On November 8, 2018, at 16.00, the exhibition “Under the Common Sky of Iraq: Kazakhstan and Polish Peacekeepers” will open in the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organized by the General Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Almaty, the Union of Military Action Veterans and Peace Missions “KazBat” and the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The exhibition is timed to the tenth anniversary of the end of the peacekeeping mission of the Kazakh battalion "KazBat" and captures the overall peacekeeping mission of Kazakhstan and Polish peacekeepers in Iraq.
After the overthrow of the regime of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, the international community took measures to normalize the situation in Iraq. To achieve this goal, four stabilization zones were created. The South-Central Multinational Division, led by the command of the Polish military contingent in Iraq, took control of the south-central zone. The Center-South Multinational Division consisted of troops from 23 states, among them 2,500 Polish soldiers and the engineer-sapper unit of the Kazakhstan peacekeeping battalion "KazBat", which was sent to Iraq on September 19, 2003. The Kazakhstan peacekeeping battalion "KazBat" was formed in 2000 by decree of President N. Nazarbayev. The Kazakhstani detachment consisted of an engineering and sapper group, a water supply and supply group. Among the tasks of the engineering group of the “KazBat” were the search, storage and explosion of explosive objects.
At the exhibition, for the first time, more than 30 photographs will be presented to visitors, reflecting the different moments of the soldiers' everyday life of Kazakhstani and Polish soldiers who fought side by side for peace in Iraq.
During the battle 22, including the Kazakhstan officer, captain Kairat Kudabayev, whose author's photos are also presented at the exhibition.
The event will be attended by veteran peacekeepers from the Republic of Poland, who for the first time after completing a joint peacekeeping mission under the one sky of Iraq, will meet with Kazakh colleagues.
The ceremony will be accompanied by the Kazakhstani orchestra, which on this occasion has prepared a festive program. Especially for guests will sound military marches of both countries.
The exhibition is of international importance and will undoubtedly make a great contribution to the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Poland.
On December 25, 2018, the photo exhibition “Under the Common Sky of Iraq: Kazakhstan and Polish Peacekeepers” will open in the military-historical museum of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan in Astana. The final point of the traveling exhibition will be the city of Gdansk (Poland), where the exhibition will be exhibited in the museum of the Second World War.
Dates of the exhibition in the Central Museum: from 8 to 14 November 2018.
