Council of CIS Foreign Ministers meeting starts in Minsk

6 апреля 2018

By Yuri Kozlov (live): The Council of the CIS Foreign Ministers is one of the main bodies of the Commonwealth, which is responsible for coordinating the alliance’s foreign politicy.

Participants of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS start arriving at the President Hotel in Minsk. The level of representation is quite high. Seven countries – Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus – will be represented by their foreign ministers. In total, the CIS includes 9 countries. Two more countries – Turkmenistan and Ukraine – are associated members of the Commonwealth. The main goal of the Council of Foreign Ministers is the coordination of foreign policy activities between the CIS countries.

There are 12 items on the agenda of today's meeting. Focus will be laid on matters of safety and security, combating crime and countering international terrorism, coordinating the activities of law enforcement agencies, as well as cooperation in culture and the humanitarian sphere.

The heads of the delegations of the Commonwealth countries will consider draft agreements on cooperation of the CIS member states in combating crime in IT, the Interstate Program of Joint Measures to Combat Crime for 2019-2023, the Regulations on the Congress of Teachers and Educators of the Commonwealth Member States, The International Youth Project of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States "100 Ideas for the CIS".

In about half an hour, the heads of delegations will take part in the ceremony of photographing. Then the Council will work in an expanded format, followed by the signing of official documents. In the afternoon, a joint press conference is scheduled. It will be attended by the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry – Vladimir Makei, the chairman of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council – Sirodzhiddin Aslov of Tajikistan, as well as the Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee – Sergei Lebedev.