On behalf of the President of Turkmenistan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov participated in the regular videoconference meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CGP) of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
A wide range of issues on cooperation of the Commonwealth countries in such areas as economy, transport, energy, the humanitarian and cultural field, youth policy, and a number of other areas were discussed during the online meeting.
One of the topics of the discussion was the response to the coronavirus pandemic that requires the coordination of efforts to develop common approaches to overcome the spread of this dangerous infection and its consequences.
As noted by the Turkmen side, the agenda of the meeting reflects the urgent tasks of cooperation at this stage and in the future. Among them are the key issues of economic partnership in the CIS.
According to Turkmenistan, it is necessary to focus on such relevant areas as energy, transport, industry and trade.
As for the energy sector, it is important to integrate complex potentials of the countries of the Commonwealth, exploring the possibilities of implementing joint multilateral energy supply projects not only within the geographic borders of the CIS, but also in neighboring regions.
The position of our country on the efforts to fight against the coronavirus pandemic was presented during the meeting. It was emphasized the importance of developing effective mechanisms of cooperation in this direction that will prevent the spread of infection Among them are sanitary and quarantine measures at the borders between the CIS states.
In this regard, Turkmenistan suggested to hold a meeting between the leaders of the relevant ministries of the CIS countries and the heads of the WHO central office in Geneva to discuss joint measures to combat COVID-19.
The agenda of the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government also included a number of draft documents aimed at further intensifying constructive cooperation in various fields.
Speaking about the draft “Strategy for the Economic Development of the Commonwealth of Independent States until 2030”, the Turkmen side assessed this document as a comprehensive one, containing specific proposals for enhancing and deepening partnerships within the CIS.
The draft document “Priority Directions for Cooperation of the CIS Member States in the Transport Sector for the Period until 2030” was submitted to the meeting participants for consideration.
Turkmenistan believes that the document can become an effective tool and a serious contribution to establishing a broad, equal international partnership in the sphere of transport.
Turkmenistan also calls for the continuation of the active interaction of the CIS countries in the cultural sphere. At the same time, the Turkmen side underlined the importance of further developing fruitful cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports, establishing relations between young people of CIS states, scientific and educational institutions of the Commonwealth states.
Turkmenistan supported the Plan of events on occasion of the declaration of 2021 the Year of Architecture and Urban Planning in the Commonwealth of Independent States presented by the CIS Executive Committee jointly with the Intergovernmental Council for Cooperation in the Construction Sphere.
A number of documents were adopted on the outcomes of the meeting, including the joint efforts of the CIS member states to combat the spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19; on the CIS Economic Development Strategy until 2030; the Priority areas of cooperation of the CIS member states in the field of transport up to 2030; the Plan of events dedicated to the Year of Architecture and Urban Planning in the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2021; the Strategy for the development of cooperation between the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the field of physical education and sports for 2021-2030.
Source: Turkmenistan State News Agency-TDH