The prime ministers of the CIS member states gathered in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, on October 26.
Media reports say the meeting participants exchanged views and considered all issues included on the meeting’s agenda.
"Traditionally, the parties had a frank, detailed conversation on all aspects of cooperation. The heads of delegations made a number of proposals aimed at further improving our joint work. Traditionally, the CIS Executive Committee will analyze all these proposals for their practical implementation. The results of the meeting once again reaffirmed the commitment of the CIS countries to giving a new impetus to CIS development, improving it, implementing new projects to shore up the economic potential of our countries," CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev noted, according to BelTA.
Russia’s Interfax reports that speaking at the meeting, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the CIS and the Eurasian Economic Union "are significant mechanisms of the provision of economic stability and an atmosphere of neighborliness and friendship between peoples"
"I have no doubt that close interaction of the kind will be a token of the prosperity of the entire region and higher living standards of our peoples in the new geopolitical reality," Mishustin said, noting that Russia "remains a reliable ally and trade partner."
AKIpress says Uzbekistan proposes creation of a common CIS e-commerce platform. Speaking at the meeting, Uzbek Prime Minister noted that Uzbekistan stands for establishment of a free trade zone in the CIS without withholdings (differentiated rates of customs duties for goods) and restrictions and suggested revision of the provisions of the current CIS free trade agreement.
The meeting reported resulted in signing of twenty cooperation documents.
According to BelTA, the next meeting of the CIS Heads of Government Council will be held in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, in May 2024.
Tajikistan was represented at the meeting by Prime Minister Qohir Rasoulzoda. However, Tajikistan’s official websites have not yet reported on this gathering.
The CIS covers much of the former Soviet Union, including as full members Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Moldova, as well as Turkmenistan as an “associate.” Ukraine, which participated in the CIS since its inception, never actually ratified its charter – disagreeing with the document’s positioning of Russia as the only legal successor state to the Soviet Union. Kyiv ceased most engagement with the CIS in 2014 and formally withdrew its representatives in 2018.
