DUSHANBE, December 21, 2009, Asia-Plus — Speaking at an informal summit of seven CIS heads of state in Kazakhstan, President Emomali Rahmon on December 19 called once again on CIS leaders to have more active position on the issues related to providing security and settling Afghan problems, according to presidential press service.
The informal summit that brought together the presidents of Tajikistan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan took place in a place near Almaty, Kazakhstan on December 19-20 to discuss security and economic integration.
The meeting participants, in particular, discussed issues related to further development of the CIS, the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) and the Collective Security Treat Organization (CSTO) as well as the current situation in the Central Asian region.
Speaking at the meeting, President Rahmon noted that the CIS should work out a common position for the Afghan problems on international arena. Tajik leader also called on his CIS counterparts to have more active positions on the security provision and Afghan problems settlement issues, the press service said.
The CIS leaders also welcomed Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Besides, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia agreed on Saturday to create a single economic space by January 1, 2012, RIA Novosti reported on december 19. In their joint statement, the three leaders noted that they were committed to the further deepening of the integration process within EAEC area, as they thereby confirmed as their subsequent goal the creation, no later than January 1, 2012, of a unified economic space of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.
We will recall that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a package of deals on November 27 in Minsk to create a customs union with common tariffs, paving the way for a single economic space.
In June 2009, the heads of governments of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of their intention to join the world trade club as a customs union. The three ex-Soviet republics suspended their bilateral negotiations on the WTO entry to hold consultations on a common position on the customs union. In October 2009, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus announced they would resume talks on WTO accession separately, but on synchronized positions.
