About 80 events out of about 150 envisaged by the plan for the implementation of the Concept of the Russian Federation’s Presidency in the CIS were held in the first half of 2024, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the statutory and other CIS bodies Andrei Grozov told reporters before the next meeting of the Council of Permanent Representatives of the CIS countries in Minsk, BelTA correspondent reports.
At the meeting, the Russian side, as the chair of the CIS, informed colleagues and partners about how the Concept of the Presidency of the Russian Federation in the Commonwealth in 2024 is being implemented and the action plan adopted in this regard. “Currently, about 80 of this action plan, which includes about 150 different events, have already been carried out, that is, more than half,” Andrei Grozov said.
He noted that traditionally the emphasis is on foreign policy coordination. In April, a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers was held in Minsk, at which two joint statements were adopted. The first concerned ensuring the safety of journalists and preventing infringement of their rights. The second statement reflecting the common approaches of the CIS countries on the world stage is in connection with the 30th anniversary of the granting of observer status to the CIS at the UN General Assembly.
“Every year, a plan for inter-ministerial consultations is adopted, it is actively implemented. In the first half of the year, we have already held a number of consultations on cooperation within the CIS, on deepening cooperation in the cultural sphere, on economic cooperation,” said the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the statutory and other CIS bodies.
Priority attention in the implementation of the Concept of the Russian Federation’s presidency in the CIS, according to him, is given to the development of trade and economic relations. According to Andrey Grozov, in January-May of this year, compared with the same period last year, the volume of industrial products in the CIS countries increased by 5.2%, the volume of commercial cargo transportation – by 3.7%, the volume of retail trade – by 9%.
He recalled that a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS was held in Ashgabat on May 24. It adopted a number of important documents aimed at further enhancing economic cooperation in the CIS area. First of all, we are talking about the action plan for optimizing infrastructure and developing international transport corridors and the Concept of Cooperation between the CIS member states in the energy sector until 2035.
“Traditionally, increased attention is paid to issues of military cooperation. On July 3, a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS countries was held. In particular, it discussed the functioning of the Joint System for Monitoring and Evaluating the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Situation in the CIS member states, and the development of a joint communications system of the CIS armed forces. In April of this year, a meeting of the chiefs of general Staff was held in Moscow, where issues of military cooperation were also discussed,” said the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the statutory and other CIS bodies.
He named the issues of cooperation in the field of security and cooperation of law enforcement agencies as one of the priorities. Thus, a number of events have been held through the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center.
Much attention is paid to cooperation in the migration sphere, Andrei Grozov continued. In the first half of the year, the Council of Heads of Migration Authorities signed a memorandum of cooperation with the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center for joint action.
Cultural and humanitarian cooperation is also in the field of view. This year, the Year of the Volunteer Movement is taking place in the CIS, in connection with which the plan for the implementation of measures, numbering about 140 points, is being consistently implemented. In particular, during the World Youth Festival, which took place in Russia in March this year, the Association of Volunteer Centers held events where issues of development and deepening of the volunteer movement in the CIS were discussed.
In addition, a number of important issues related to the development of cooperation in the CIS were discussed at today’s meeting. First of all, the preparation of the upcoming meetings of the Council of Foreign Ministers and the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth this autumn. The issues that are supposed to be included in the agenda of these meetings were discussed. Information was also heard about the activities of the Interstate Council for Cooperation in the field of Periodicals, Book publishing, book distribution and printing in 2020-2023.
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