Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Beibut Atamkulov has participated in a regular meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States chaired by Turkmenistan, which was held in Moscow.
During the event, the foreign ministers discussed topical issues of interaction within the Commonwealth. The meeting was centered on strengthening CIS Member States' cooperation in tackling contemporary challenges and threats, as well as expansion economic, cultural, humanitarian, and scientific-technical interaction. The heads of delegations considered the report on the results of the implementation of the 2018 Plan of CIS Multilevel Ministerial Consultations and approved the new 2019 Plan.
According to the document, it is planned to hold consultations regarding foreign-policy planning, countering present-day challenges and threats, disarmament issues, development of economic cooperation, interaction in the information sphere, and cooperation with international organizations such as the UN, OSCE, and the EU. At the meeting, Beibut Atamkulov underscored that being a reliable and active participant of the CIS, Kazakhstan aims at continuing the development of mutually advantageous cooperation between the Commonwealth Member States in all spheres.
The Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted that thanks to the collaborative efforts, the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Yelbasy, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to adapt the CIS to contemporary conditions has been successfully implemented. As a result, the Member States' interest in the activities of the Organization has considerably increased in recent times.
Besides, the need for the enhancement of the Commonwealth Member States' economic interaction in line with the goals of the CIS Heads of State was emphasized. The Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan also highly appraised the results of Tajikistan's CIS chairmanship in 2018, mentioning that it was very intensive and productive.
At the same time, the Kazakh side congratulated Turkmenistan on assuming the chairmanship in the organization and expressed readiness to comprehensively promote the successful implementation of the Chairmanship Concept proposed by the Turkmen side. The heads of the delegations considered the Draft Action Program for the Intensification of the Partnership between the Foreign Ministries of the CIS Member States, which was adopted at the initiative of Turkmenistan, and approved draft international treaties on: coordination of interstate relations in the field of fundamental studies, on cooperation in the field of museum affairs, and on the transfer of the execution of non-custodial sentences.
Also, the foreign ministers adopted the Statement on the need to preserve and take proper care of burial sites and military monuments of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, and also approved the Draft Statement of the of CIS Heads of State on the 80th Anniversary of the beginning of World War II.
The next meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers will take place in Ashgabat on October 10, 2019.
By KazInform.