Makei: Lessons must be learned from events in the CIS space

Vladimir Makei said: “It is a great honor for Belarus to preside in CIS bodies in the year of the 30th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States. During today's session the sides traditionally exchanged opinions about topical items on the international agenda and about interaction within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States. We exchanged opinions about the situation evolving in our region, inside our countries, and opinions about the CIS agenda. The Belarusian side once again underlined the importance of learning lessons from the events, which are happening in our country and in the region. The Belarusian side noted the importance of tight interaction within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States.”

Vladimir Makei noted that despite the pandemic restrictions all the CIS executive bodies operate as necessary. “A session of the CIS Economic Council has already taken place under the aegis of the Belarusian presidency as well as a number of sessions of the Council of Plenipotentiary Representatives and the Commission for Economic Affairs under the CIS Economic Council,” he reminded. “The international economic forum timed to the 30th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States has been a success although it was held online. In view of the fact the need to further step up joint efforts to fight the epidemic was underlined.” He noted it is necessary to coordinate the work of sanitary services of the CIS member states, resume passenger transportation, and enable unrestricted travels for individuals in the region.

Vladimir Makei said that stronger partnership between the ministries of foreign affairs had been on the agenda of the session. It was noted it is necessary to include new topics into the agenda of multilevel ministerial consultations. Belarus takes an active part in the discussion and development of the other topics, which were discussed during the session, such as a statement in view of the 80th anniversary since the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 began, the reinforcement of security, law and order, the counteraction of money laundering. Due attention was paid to the development of sport and tourism, youth cooperation, interaction in the area of geodesy, cartography, land registry, and the remote sensing of Earth bearing in mind the achieved level of cooperation of the CIS member states, digitization, and needs of the national economies.

Vladimir Makei said: “Future work in the Commonwealth of Independent States will continue on the basis of the presidency concept the Belarusian side has worked out for this year and an action plan on implementing it and other strategic CIS documents, which were passed last year.”

This year's forthcoming top and high-level meetings will be important for realizing the program, Vladimir Makei said. An anniversary session of the CIS Heads of State Council will take place in Minsk in October 2021. Hopefully it will be an offline event. Significant documents are supposed to be passed during the session. In line with the established practice a session of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council will be held on 14 October, prior to the CIS Heads of State Council session. “Hopefully it will be a face-to-face meeting, too,” Vladimir Makei added.