On 25 August, a meeting of the Council of Permanent Representatives of the CIS Member States was held in Minsk, attended by the Commonwealth’s Secretary-General, Sergey Lebedev. This was reported by the news agency Orient.

At the suggestion of the Embassy of Turkmenistan, the participants discussed key events on Ashgabat’s domestic political calendar. Turkmenistan’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Nazarguly Shagulyev, spoke about preparations for the 35th anniversary of the country’s independence and the forthcoming meeting of the Halk Maslahaty on 23 September.

The diplomats also drew up the agenda for the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS, which is to be held in Moscow in December. This will include issues relating to cooperation in industry, innovation, fundamental science, the environment and the humanitarian sphere, including tourism and the ‘Sodruzhestvo’ film festival.

Separate discussions were held on the development of the CIS’s external relations within the framework of Observer and Partner statuses, as well as the further promotion of the ‘CIS Plus’ format.