Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States

The meeting agenda included 14 items. The heads of government considered current matters of economic cooperation within the Commonwealth of Independent States, and also discussed and endorsed a number of documents.

List of heads of delegations participating in the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government:

Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Hidayat oglu Asadov;

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan (via videoconference);

Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Chairman of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council Alexander Turchin;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov;

Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan - Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Adylbek Kasymaliev;

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chairman of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States Kokhir Rasulzoda;

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Khodjamyrat Geldimyradov;

Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov;

Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Independent States Sergei Lebedev.

Mikhail Mishustin's remarks at the restricted format meeting of the CIS Heads of Government Council:

Good afternoon, colleagues,

I would like to thank our Belarusian friends for the traditionally warm welcome extended to the Russian delegation in Minsk and for the excellent organisation of all the events. I would also like to greet the participants of this year's second meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

I also want to convey the best wishes from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He consistently emphasises that Russia sincerely values the historically strong, friendly, and genuinely trusting relations with our partners in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

We are approaching the final stage of implementing the first phase of the Commonwealth Economic Development Strategy, which runs until the end of this year. According to expert assessments, the implementation of the action plan has made a significant contribution to the growth of the CIS gross domestic product, with mutual trade increasing by 18 percent over the past four years.

Together with you, colleagues, we are making decisions to strengthen food and energy security, stimulate business activity, and advance industrial cooperation.

The Free Trade Agreement in Services has already entered into force. In order to protect people from substandard products, six general technical regulations have been approved covering food products, chemicals, children's goods, construction materials, packaging, and textiles.

It is important to continue creating the right conditions to expand foreign economic relations and ensure the functioning of a reliable payment and financial infrastructure in national currencies. We must build an effective system of cross-border settlements with foreign partners. To this end, it is essential to establish dialogue between our financial regulators. This will be a major step towards greater independence from the international financial environment.

We must deepen cooperation among scientists and engineers from our countries to strengthen our technological sovereignty. We must launch new, in-demand projects, exchange best practices, and increase the level of joint research and development to achieve world-class breakthroughs in fundamental scientific fields.

This is the purpose of the CIS Scientific and Technological Development Strategy, which we are adopting today. It will enable our countries to initiate new joint projects in the field of innovation and, importantly, enhance the competitiveness of our industries.

Colleagues,

President of Russia Vladimir Putin noted that "the Commonwealth remains a reliable and, undoubtedly, sought-after and effective cooperation format, within which member states can build relations based solely on the principles of partnership, mutual benefit, and consideration for each other's interests." This approach helps us address all challenging tasks. And it is vital that all our agreements are implemented in practice to strengthen our national economies and improve the overall quality of life of our people.