Lukashenko arrived in the capital of Tajikistan, where the CIS summit will be held
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in Dushanbe. In the capital of Tajikistan, the Belarusian leader will take part in the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS, which will be held on October 10, BELTA correspondent reports.
At Dushanbe airport, Alexander Lukashenko was met by Prime Minister of Tajikistan Kohir Rasulzoda, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Maksim Ryzhenkov, Ambassador of Belarus to Tajikistan Viktor Denisenko, and other officials.
In addition, Alexander Lukashenko was welcomed by children in national costumes, speaking not only in their native language but also in Belarusian. The solemnity of the reception was enhanced by the participation of an honor guard company. The airport itself was decorated with floral installations in the form of flags of the countries that will be represented at the meeting of the Council of Heads of State.
As reported by BELTA, about two dozen issues will be submitted for the consideration of the Commonwealth leaders. On the eve of the organization's 35th anniversary next year, it is planned to consider a number of initiatives to strengthen its international positioning, in particular, on the creation of the "CIS Plus" format and the granting of observer status at the CIS to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Earlier, Alexander Lukashenko stated that Belarus welcomes the initiative to create the "CIS Plus" format as a new platform for multilateral cooperation of the Commonwealth with international partners. The Belarusian leader made the corresponding statement on September 30 at a meeting in Minsk with heads of government delegations participating in the meetings of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS.
The agenda of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS in Dushanbe also includes the topics of energy security, cooperation in the military sphere, in the field of border security, and the fight against transnational crime.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Maxim Ryzhenkov, spoke to journalists about the specifics and significance of the upcoming summit. According to the head of the foreign ministry, this event is significant not only as a negotiation platform for like-minded people, those who lead CIS countries, build their independence in similar conditions, and therefore build cooperation within this international organization across a whole range of areas. On the sidelines of the summit, heads of state have the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings and discuss issues of relations between countries.
The minister noted that the Commonwealth was founded almost 35 years ago, and during this time the CIS has acquired the features of a serious international organization. Nevertheless, the organization does not stop in its development, and there are a number of confirmations of this. In particular, the upcoming summit will raise issues of expanding opportunities for new participants and the status of other states within the CIS.
"Further decisions will be made on a more serious international positioning of the CIS. Issues of cooperation with other regional organizations and granting observer status to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be discussed," emphasized Maxim Ryzhenkov.
In addition, on October 9, another meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CIS is planned in Dushanbe. The agenda of the meeting includes key issues of strengthening multilateral interaction within the Commonwealth.