Meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council held in Turkmenistan

China News Service, Astana, October 9. Comprehensive news: The CIS Heads of State Council meeting was held on the 9th local time in the "Avaza" national tourist area in Turkmenistan. The participating leaders exchanged views on cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, security, humanities and other fields, and adopted a number of cooperation documents.

President Berdimukhamedov of Turkmenistan chaired the meeting, which was attended by leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iranian President Pezeshchiyan attended the enlarged meeting within the framework of the "CIS+".

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that economy has always been a priority area for cooperation among CIS countries, and countries should further eliminate trade barriers. He pointed out that the total trade volume between Russia and other CIS countries will exceed US$110 billion in 2025, and the proportion of local currency settlement of commercial transactions between countries has exceeded 90%. He emphasized that a stable financial infrastructure that is not affected by external influences will help deepen economic cooperation, develop capital markets and expand mutual investment.

Kazakhstan President Tokayev proposed formulating a "CIS development strategy until 2035" to clarify the focus of cooperation in economy, energy, infrastructure, high technology and human capital, and proposed to hold a special forum on artificial intelligence under the framework of the CIS in Astana in 2027.

President Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan called for further eliminating technical trade barriers among CIS countries, promoting mutual recognition of product certificates, giving full play to the role of free trade areas, and promoting countries to shift from pure commodity trade to joint production, joint investment, and joint development of international markets.

The meeting adopted a statement on the 35th anniversary of the founding of the CIS, as well as cooperation documents involving border security, combating crimes in the field of information technology, etc., and designated 2028 and 2029 as the CIS's "Year of Social Development and Quality of Life" and "Year of Transport Connectivity" respectively.

According to the resolution of the meeting, Uzbekistan will serve as the rotating presidency of the CIS in 2027.