A meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS held in Samarkand

On April 14, 2023, a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in Samarkand.

The event was attended by the Heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov, Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, Republic of Belarus Sergey Aleinik, Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Kyrgyz Republic Zheenbek Kulubaev, Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, deputy Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan Khalaf Khalafov and Turkmenistan Vepa Khadzhiev, as well as the Secretary General of the CIS Sergey Lebedev.

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the further intensification of multifaceted cooperation within the Commonwealth, as well as on topical regional and international issues.

The Uzbek side emphasized the importance of further efforts to implement the initiatives of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev within the framework of the Commonwealth aimed at building up trade and economic cooperation, industrial and technological partnership, cultural and humanitarian ties. The relevance of the implementation of new joint projects in the development of digital transformation, green economy, tourism and youth was noted.

At the meeting, information was heard on the implementation of the Plan for multi-level inter-MFA consultations of the CIS member states and the Action Program to enhance partnership between the Foreign Ministries of the Commonwealth Member States in 2022.

Draft documents submitted for further consideration by the Council of Heads of Government and the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth Member States, including the announcement of the Samarkand as the Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth and the Tashkent as the Youth Capital of the CIS in 2024, were considered and approved.

It was decided to hold the next meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States in October 2023 in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.