THE PRESIDENT OF TURKMENISTAN TAKES PART IN THE MEETING OF THE CIS LEADERS

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov left on working visit for Russian Federation for the participation in informal meeting of the heads of the CIS countries. Turkmen leader has been seen off by the officials in Ashgabat International Airport. 

Turkmenistan is committed to traditional fruitful dialog in the CIS format, with members of which our country has old good and close relations. 

The Head of the State highlights that while implementing foreign course based on the principles of peace loving and positive neutrality, Turkmenistan is always open for its friends and partners. In modern realities, the Commonwealth of Independent States is actual ground for consolidation and expansion of beneficial cooperation, which meets common interests. 

In this direction, our country implements the policy based on the principles of peace loving and goodwill, consideration of national and common interests, equal beneficial partnership. Taking active position in solution of regional and international issues, our country makes significant input to the improvement of peace and stability, development of wide fruitful collaboration both in bilateral and also on multilateral base under the CIS format. 

Turkmenistan has deservingly fulfilled its mission of the chairing of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2012. Ideas and initiatives proposed by Turkmen leader for activation of relations and establishment of new contacts have been successfully implemented, which allowed giving new impulse to joint activity in practice. 

Having taking the chairing of this structure in 2019, Turkmenistan will continue providing comprehensive support to improvement and development of traditionally friendly relations. In this regard, the Concept of the chairing and action plan of its implementation have been development and submitted to the CIS Executive Committee. 

The chairing of Turkmenistan in the CIS in 2019 will be carried out according to the fundamental CIS documents and aimed at steadfast implementation of adopted international agreements and decisions as well as at filling of substantive agenda of cooperation. 

Our country aims to support further development and improvement of cooperation and partnership between the members based on equality, goodwill and respect for attachment of steadfast dynamics of the development of the CIS, provision of growth of wealth and life quality of the nations of member states. 

Improvement of trust between the states, support of stability and security, strengthening of political and diplomatic collaboration, enhancement of level of cooperation of the CIS with international organizations including the UN and OSCE, formation of the conditions for activation of trade and economic cooperation and integration to the world economic relations are priority objectives in the Concept of the chairing of Turkmenistan. Energy, transport and communications have been named as key spheres of the partnership between the CIS countries. Great attention is paid to the stimulation of wide cultural, humanitarian, scientific, educational and sport relations between the CIS countries. 

Our country has already started the preparation to the next session of the Council of the Heads of the CIS countries in Ashgabat in 2019. Regardless from the chairing, our country always says that it is willing to become the platform for important integration processes, Turkmenistan often hosts big events related to the activity of the CIS including those related to profile cooperation and humanitarian collaboration. While in 2012, Mary was declared as cultural capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States while in 2016, this honourable title was given to Dashoguz. 

…After few hours, the aircraft of the President has landed in Pulkovo International Airport of Saint Petersburg where President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was met by the officials. 

From the airport, the motorcade of the President of Turkmenistan went to Boris Yeltsin Library, which became the place of the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. 

The Meeting was held under the chairmanship of President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin with the participation of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronboy Jeenbekov as well as President of Moldova Igor Dodon as the Head of observer country at the Eurasian Economic Union. 

The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is the highest authority of the Eurasian Economic Union, which was established in 2014. The main goals of the Union is to support stable development of the economies of member states for improvement of life level of the population, formation of unified market of goods, services, capital and labour resources. The agenda of current meeting included the subjects of development of network technologies, regulation of digital economy, common markets of gas, oil, petroleum products and other. 

In B. Yeltsin Library, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was warmly and cordially welcomed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Other Heads of the CIS countries, namely President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev have also arrived to the meeting. The participants of the meeting have been invited to informal lunch given by the President of Russian Federation after exchange of the greetings and traditional photographing on the background of State flags of the Commonwealth countries. 

Joint motorcade of the heads of the states went to Leningrad Centre Cultural and Entertainment Complex, which is located in historical building in Tauric Garden on Potyomkin Street where show programme has been presented to the attention of the guests. 

During the meeting held in informal environment, the heads of the countries had an opportunity to exchange the visions on ley aspects of cooperation as well as on number of subjects of international importance, which present mutual interest. 

The agenda of cooperation under the CIS includes wide range of subjects related to the development of efficient cooperation in many directions, implementation of existing agreements including on intergovernmental level. Just for the last two years, the agreements on strategic partnership between Turkmenistan and Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have been signed by the outcomes of high-level talks. This is without taking into account dozens of bilateral documents in different spheres. 

During interested discussion of priority directions of the partnership in near and long term perspective, the heads of the states expressed unanimous opinion that current informal summit would serve as the beginning of further consolidation of efforts and imitation of new joint projects and programmes. 

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted repeatedly that our country sees the necessity of enforcement of political and diplomatic collaboration by activation of the partnership between foreign departments of the CIS countries, establishment of actual mechanisms of systematic, regular, bilateral political consultation based on middle-term action programme in this field. 

The Head of Turkmenistan gives special role to the cooperation with the UN and its specialized agencies and institutions in the sphere of the partnership of the CIS with international structures including on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Our country also stands for improvement of international authority of the CIS, its positive influence of modern global and regional processes. 

In trade and economic sphere, the efforts of Turkmenistan are aimed at the development of new approaches to joint activity, search for perspective forms of cooperation, definition of specific spheres of multilateral collaboration. 

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov names cooperation in educational sphere as priority direction of the activity. Our country has gained big experience of bilateral cooperation with different countries of the Commonwealth in this field. Expansion of the partnership in educational system with application of latest digital and communication technologies seems to be topical in near term. 

Special attention will be paid to the events dedicated to cultural and educational activity aimed at the acquisition of the literature by younger generation, organization of book exhibitions and promotion of books and reading in the context of the declaration of 2019 as Year of Book in the CIS. 

According to the Leader of the Nation cultural cooperation is efficient form of rapprochement and respect between the nations. It will be one of key directions of Turkmenistan activity during the chairing of the CIS. The Head of the State also pays special attention to the cooperation in sport sphere. In this aspect, Turkmenistan plans to focus on the implementation of the programme of support and development of national sports in the CIS until 2020. 

From the Leningrad Centre, the leaders of the CIS countries went to the world famous Mariinsky Theatre, which has marked its 235th anniversary this year, where the Heads of the States enjoyed “The Nutcracker” by P. I. Tchaikovsky. 

Upon the completion of the programme of working visit, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov left Saint Petersburg and flew home.