A meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was held in the Avaza National Tourist Zone. The summit, chaired by President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, was attended by the leaders of the CIS countries, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev, as well as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian as an honoured guest. During the meeting, the participants discussed future areas of political and diplomatic, trade and economic, transport, energy, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation. This was reported by the State News Agency of Turkmenistan.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that during Turkmenistan’s CIS chairmanship, particular attention was paid to expanding economic cooperation, developing transport corridors, enhancing industrial cooperation, and promoting the principles of international law. The Head of State put forward initiatives to declare 2029 the “Year of CIS Transport Connectivity”, jointly implement the objectives of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, and strengthen cooperation within the Commonwealth’s transport and logistics system.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev noted that the strategic partnership between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan is gaining new content, emphasizing the important role of the CIS in developing political dialogue and regional cooperation. He also highly praised the decision for Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to jointly chair the CIS in 2027. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the work carried out during Turkmenistan’s chairmanship contributed to enhancing cooperation within the Commonwealth and highly appreciated the conditions created in Avaza.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko highlighted the significance of the CIS’s 35th anniversary, noting that the Commonwealth remains an effective platform bringing nations closer together. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highly assessed the results of Turkmenistan’s chairmanship, identifying economic cooperation, preservation of cultural heritage, and strengthening mutual trust as priority areas. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov also highly appreciated the initiatives of the Turkmen side aimed at developing cooperation across the CIS space.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin expressed support for the Joint Statement dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the CIS and emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation in trade, investment, and high technologies. He also particularly highlighted the high organizational level of the summit held during Turkmenistan’s chairmanship. President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon noted that the current pace of the Commonwealth’s development has been maintained and highly assessed the results achieved during Turkmenistan’s chairmanship. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev described raising investment and trade cooperation within the CIS to a new level and strengthening mutual trust as important tasks of the present time.
During the extended session of the summit, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev presented information on the agenda items. Secretary General of the International Organization of the Russian Language Natalia Bocharova also delivered a report on the organization’s activities during its first six months.
During the meeting, CIS Honorary Certificates were presented, and the participants adopted the Statement dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth, decisions on the CIS chairmanship in 2027, declaring 2029 the “Year of CIS Transport Connectivity”, as well as other documents.
