Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Participation of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Commonwealth of Independent States

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established in accordance with an Agreement on creation of the CIS dated on December 8, 1991, and Protocol to the above Agreement dated on December 21, 1991.

The CIS Participating States are the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

Executive Committee of the CIS is an executive, administrative and coordinating body of the Commonwealth with headquarters in Minsk and branch in Moscow.

For the past period within the CIS has been created comprehensive legal basis and developed instruments and mechanisms of interaction that covers many essential for Participating States areas, including such priorities as further development of trade and economic cooperation, communication and transport links, safeguarding of security, and humanitarian ties.

Commonwealth widely enables to determine mutually acceptable positions and to coordinate practical measures, aimed at timely and appropriate responding to challenges and threats of sustainable development, stability and security of Participating States, to settle disputes and disagreements, as well as to intercommunicate between citizens on the CIS territories.

Uzbekistan considers the CIS as coordinating mechanism for multi-aspect interaction and platform for direct communication and interstate dialogue, including bilateral contacts within the CIS between Heads of states and relevant authorities, and also as the entity of sovereign states motivated to create conditions for multilateral cooperation.

The Republic of Uzbekistan participates in principal statutory and sectoral institutions of the CIS. Since formation of the Commonwealth Uzbekistan was among those states that support extension of economic integration, maintenance of economic ties on a new basis without politicization of these processes.

Uzbekistan stands for creation of a real free trade area on the CIS territories based on principles of no deterioration of current trade regime between the states. This becomes significant condition to guarantee sustained social and economic development in the CIS area.

The Uzbek side considers that in a fast changing world the CIS remains the needed interstate entity that serves as a platform to conduct regular negotiations, to maintain political dialogue, first of all on high level, and to agree positions aimed at responding to new challenges and threats, as well as to focus on various urgent global security issues.

The Commonwealth may and should be a coordinator for multi-aspect interaction, become an instrument to manage economic processes in order to achieve maximum social and economic benefits for all Participating States.