COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES: PRESERVATION OF POTENTIAL

Participation of President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov in the regular meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Bishkek became important evidence of Ashgabat’s interest in broadening the work of the CIS. During his working visit to Bishkek, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov met President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov. The sides discussed the pace of development of the Turkmen-Kyrgyz interaction in the political, diplomatic, trade, economic and cultural and humanitarian spheres. The Presidents of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan exchanged views on global and regional issues of mutual interest. Development of partnership within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States was one of the topics of the talks. Turkmenistan, as an associated member of the CIS, demonstrates its commitment to an open and equal dialogue within the CIS in line with the country’s foreign policy priorities. Broad and fruitful cooperation, both in bilateral and multilateral formats, through well-known international and regional organizations and structures is the key vector of this strategy. Serdar Berdimuhamedov’s participation in the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State was another important event in the program of the visit. The meeting was attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokaev, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, General Secretary of the CIS Sergey Lebedev under chairmanship of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov. Speaking at the CIS summit, Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that recent international events proved that maintaining peace, strengthening security and stability would remain the main priorities in world politics. “In this context, taking into account the realities and trends of global development, Turkmenistan invites interested parties to start discussing the possibility of developing a global security strategy under the auspices of the UN. This initiative was put forward during the 78th session of the UN General Assembly,” the head of state noted. According to him, this strategy should include three important directions – the principles of preventive diplomacy, harnessing the potential of positive neutrality and rebuilding a culture of trusting dialogue. “We regard the development of the strategy as an important step towards strengthening the atmosphere of mutual understanding and cooperation, including within the CIS, as well as addressing pressing issues of political, economic, environmental and humanitarian nature in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as a whole,” the President of Turkmenistan noted. According to him, Turkmenistan’s initiatives to establish a conference (dialogue) on security in Central Asia under the auspices of the UN are relevant for the cooperation format within the CIS. The President of Turkmenistan emphasized that the purpose of such a conference would be development of approaches and solutions aimed at bringing together and synchronizing the efforts of the countries of Central Asia and other interested states, international organizations, financial and economic institutions in ensuring sustainable, conflict-free development of the region. “The Turkmen side invites the CIS countries to take part in the first meeting of the proposed conference in Ashgabat next year,” the President of Turkmenistan said. Talking about intensification of interaction in the economy as the priority area of partnership, the head of state recalled Turkmenistan-initiated Declaration on Strategic Economic Cooperation of the CIS adopted in 2019 at the CIS summit in Ashgabat that informed the adoption of the strategy for economic development of the CIS until 2030. In this regard, Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that projects initiated by the Turkmen side to diversify energy, transport and communication components in the context of development of large-scale North – South and East – West infrastructure corridors would be relevant for the CIS. Stressing that close humanitarian interaction between the peoples of the CIS continues to be an important and unifying factor of partnership in the CIS format, the President of Turkmenistan noted the solid experience accumulated in science and education, tourism and sports. Noting Turkmenistan’s support for the initiative to declare the ancient city of Samarkand the cultural capital of the CIS in 2024, Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that holding events within the framework of this honorary status would give a new impetus to the mutual enrichment of the cultures of the peoples of the CIS and serve strengthening the traditional ties of friendship and good neighborliness. In conclusion, the President of Turkmenistan confirmed his country’s strong commitment to further cooperation within the CIS. The head of the Turkmen state expressed gratitude to the President of Kyrgyzstan for effective chairmanship of the CIS in 2023, wished success to the Russian Federation as the next chair the CIS and President Vladimir Putin, and also thanked the CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev for successful coordination of joint work. In the course of exchange of views during the summit, the sides reviewed the results of the CIS work over the year, specified priority tasks and plans for the coming period, discussed aspects of regional and international issues and a number of organizational issues. A number of documents were adopted on the outcomes of the summit. The high level of interest in achieving an effective collective result demonstrated by the Turkmen side at the CIS summit confirms Ashgabat’s long-term plans aimed at increasing the intensity of a high-level dialogue within the CIS and its focus on implementing specific steps in political and economic spheres.
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