On Saturday, October 12, a briefing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan on the meetings of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Council of the CIS Heads of State held in Ashgabat on October 10 and 11.

The event was attended by representatives of national and foreign media, as well as the heads and representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Turkmenistan.

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, topical issues related to development of partnership between the CIS countries were placed on the Summit agenda.

• I would like to emphasize separately that today the goal of developing cooperation is to give a new impetus to the work of the Commonwealth countries, promote this activity to a level that meets modern requirements and realities, as well as to ensure the ability of our Commonwealth to adequately and timely respond to changes in the international and regional space.

In his speech at the Summit, the President of Turkmenistan emphasized that the strengthening of lasting peace and security across the CIS was and remains an unconditional priority. Moreover, the most important objective in the context of ensuring strategic and regional stability is the collaboration between the CIS and major international organizations, primarily the UN.

The goals are common in this respect. The CIS member states have much to offer each other, and a systemic dialogue between the CIS and the UN can produce significant results.

It should be noting that the leaders of the Commonwealth signed the Declaration on strategic and economic cooperation between the CIS countries. This document aims to create a coordinated approach to the realization of the economic interests of the Commonwealth in general, and CIS country in particular.

It provides the creation of effective partnership mechanisms allowing for the improvement of economic relations, both within the Commonwealth and with other integration associations. It has its own goals and objectives, and outlines 21 priority areas of joint activity.

The Ashgabat Declaration opens up new opportunities for the implementation of joint projects of the CIS countries with other states and associations.

• For example, the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, where the two CIS countries participate in the project with an access to our southern neighbor. This road is accessible to many countries throughout the CIS and the European part of the continent.

According to Russian experts, this is the shortest route from the ports of the Baltic Sea to the ports located in the Persian Gulf.

During the meeting of the Council of the CIS Heads of State, an emphasis was placed on excellent opportunities for building up economic partnership in such areas as industry, trade, technological collaboration, etc.

The energy industry was specified as one of the most important areas in this context.

• As is known, energy issues are gaining increasing relevance within the UN and other reputable international organizations. The CIS countries take active participation in the discussion of internationally significant large-scale energy projects.

A briefing also highlighted that the Presidents of Turkmenistan and Russia adopted a joint statement on cooperation in the field of information security. In addition, the leaders of the CIS countries adopted an address to the peoples of the Commonwealth countries as well as the world community in connection with the 75th anniversary of the Soviet peoples’ Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Ambassadors of Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan spoke at a briefing. They expressed deep gratitude for the warm welcome and high organization of the CIS Summit.

Maysa Ovezmukhammedova