December 6, Minsk /BELTA/. Belarus will chair the CIS in 2013, and the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State is scheduled to be held in Belarus in October 2013. The corresponding decision was made on December 5 at the Commonwealth summit in Ashgabat, which was attended by the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian leader.
Before the meeting, the head of the Belarusian state met with his Turkmen counterpart and discussed a number of issues of bilateral cooperation.
Alexander Lukashenko and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov confirmed their intentions to deepen fruitful cooperation in various fields. The head of the Belarusian state conveyed proposals to the Turkmen leader on promising areas for the development of bilateral interaction, which the President of Turkmenistan will be able to familiarize himself with in detail after the summit.
Welcoming Alexander Lukashenko, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized the high dynamics in the development of Belarusian-Turkmen relations and the traditionally friendly and close ties between the peoples of the two countries. According to him, the parties actively cooperate in politics, and trade and economic ties are gaining momentum.
The President of Turkmenistan thanked the head of the Belarusian state for fruitful cooperation in education, science, and experience sharing. He noted that Belarusian equipment is in demand in many sectors in Turkmenistan, including in agriculture and the oil and gas industry.
The meeting stressed the importance of implementing the joint project for the construction of the Garlyk mining and processing plant for the production of potash fertilizers. This is the largest facility in the region, which will greatly contribute to the development of agriculture.
"You have colossal potash fertilizer reserves. I am sure that you will develop them," said the President of Belarus. "Therefore, we will have enough work here with you." The head of the Belarusian state added that new phases of the plant will be built by Turkmen specialists, and Belarusians will be involved in consulting. "This is the essence of our cooperation. Not just to build and leave, but to transfer experience, to train specialists," he noted.
The heads of state placed a special emphasis on the development of cultural and humanitarian ties. For instance, the Belgoscirk recently hosted guest performances by the "Turkmen Dzhigits" group of the State Circus of Turkmenistan. "You have truly demonstrated top-class performance in the heart of Europe. We would like to see more of these shows," stated the President of Belarus.
Alexander Lukashenko assured his Turkmen counterpart of the warm and friendly attitude of Belarusians towards the people of Turkmenistan.
Within the framework of the summit, a bilateral meeting also took place between the Presidents of Belarus and Ukraine, Alexander Lukashenko and Viktor Yanukovych, during which pressing issues of Belarusian-Ukrainian relations were discussed, as well as the interaction between Ukraine and the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
At the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS, the chairmanship of the organisation in 2013 was transferred to Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko noted that the Belarusian chairmanship would be held under the motto "Integration for the Benefit of People: Strengthening Good Neighbourliness, Developing Environmental Cooperation, Expanding Cultural Dialogue."
"We will proceed from the consideration of the interests of all member states of the Commonwealth," emphasised the President of Belarus.
Alexander Lukashenko outlined the areas on which the Belarusian side intends to focus in 2013. These include the development of a common information space, strengthening intercultural and interethnic interaction, expanding contacts at the level of scientific and creative intelligentsia, veteran and youth organisations, and implementing projects in the field of ecological culture and environmental protection. This topic was particularly highlighted by the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, who invited the heads of state to the Chernobyl site, where a new shelter is being constructed over the reactor that suffered a catastrophe.
The Belarusian side intends to present the concept of the chairmanship and an action plan for its implementation by the end of 2012. "I very much hope for your support and readiness for joint work to strengthen the Commonwealth in the interests of our peoples," stated the head of the Belarusian state, addressing his colleagues.The President of Belarus thanked the Turkmen side and personally President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for the work done during the CIS chairmanship, as well as for the warm welcome in Ashgabat. "In the beautiful Turkmen capital, not only official meetings of the Commonwealth bodies were held this year, but also a number of scientific, creative, sports and other events took place. They served to strengthen the traditionally friendly ties between the peoples of our countries," noted the Belarusian leader.
The Council of CIS Heads of State adopted a declaration on the further development of comprehensive cooperation. The document expresses the parties' aspiration to further promote the strengthening of the Commonwealth's role in shaping a system of regional and interregional relations, and in establishing a viable and effective cooperation mechanism that meets modern requirements.
At the initiative of the Russian Federation, the heads of state discussed and made a decision on the chairman of the Executive Committee - the CIS Executive Secretary. The powers of the current chairman of the Executive Committee have been extended until the end of 2016.
The participants of the meeting also heard information about the activities of the Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS Member States. The Council of Heads of State approved the work carried out and proposed that the Interparliamentary Assembly continue its activities to develop inter-parliamentary cooperation between the Commonwealth states in the political, economic, legal and other spheres.
The heads of state decided to prepare for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. In particular, it is envisaged to establish an honorary order and a jubilee medal "70 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". National programs for the preparation and celebration of the Victory anniversary will be developed and adopted in the CIS member states.
The participants of the meeting were presented with detailed information on the progress of implementing the decision of the Council of Heads of State of December 20, 2011, on defining cooperation in the field of communications and informatization as a key theme for CIS member states' interaction in the economic sphere in 2012. As its discussion showed, cooperation between states in this area is developing very actively.
The Regulation on the Interstate Programme "Cultural Capitals of the Commonwealth" was approved at the meeting. It was decided to implement the interstate programme in 2013 in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus, declaring the cities of Gabala, Gyumri and Mogilev as Cultural Capitals of the Commonwealth, respectively.
A decision was also made to declare 2013 the Year of Ecological Culture and Environmental Protection in the CIS, focusing the main efforts within the framework of interstate cooperation on this important topic.
Following the meeting, a package of documents was signed.
In particular, the heads of state signed the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Organisation of an Integrated Currency Market of the CIS Member States. The document is aimed at simplifying currency exchange operations by mutual admission of legal entities authorised to carry out currency operations to each other's currency markets. Compared to the current procedure for currency exchange through authorised banks, the procedure proposed in the agreement is simpler and more economically advantageous.
Documents relating to the sphere of security and countering new challenges and threats include the Agreement on the Establishment of the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units of the CIS Member States; the Agreement on Cooperation in the Training of Specialists for Anti-Terrorist Units in Educational Institutions of the Competent Authorities of the Commonwealth of Independent States Member States; the Agreement of the CIS Member States on Cooperation in the Material and Technical Support of Competent Authorities Engaged in Combating Terrorism and Other Violent Manifestations of Extremism.
The establishment of the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units is driven by the need to develop cooperation and the desire to coordinate interaction in countering the legalisation (laundering) of proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism.
In addition, the Advanced Development Directions of the United Air Defence System of the Commonwealth States were approved, as well as an action plan for the implementation of the protocol on approving the Regulation on the Organisation of Interaction between Border and Other Agencies of the CIS States in Providing Assistance in the Event of and Settlement (Liquidation) of Crisis Situations at External Borders dated 5 October 2007.
By a decision of the Council of Heads of State, a number of state figures from Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine were awarded CIS Certificates of Honour for their active work in strengthening and developing the Commonwealth.
The Chairperson of the Economic Court of the CIS was approved as Lyudmila Kamenkova from Belarus.
BELTA