02 November 2018, 09:21

Astana hosts session of CIS Heads of Government Council

November 2 at the session of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev received the heads of delegations in Akorda. During the collective meeting, the Head of State stressed the particular importance of the Council session in strengthening cooperation of the Commonwealth States and noted the importance of developing trade and economic relations between the CIS countries.

The session of the CIS Heads of Government Council traditionally took place in a reduced and extended formats.

The meeting was attended by Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev, the Russian Federation — Dmitry Medvedev, Azerbaijan — Novruz Mamedov, Belarus — Syarhey Rumas, Kyrgyzstan — Mukhammedkaliy Abylgaziyev, Tajikistan — Kokhir Rasulzoda, Uzbekistan — Abdulla Aripov, the first Vice Prime Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan G. Muradov, Ambassador of Moldova to Belarus, Permanent Plenipotentiary to the CIS V. Sorochan, Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee S. Lebedev.

In a narrow composition, an exchange of views took place on topical issues of the economic interaction of the CIS member countries. The heads of government delegations at the same time voiced a number of proposals aimed at further improving joint activities. The Kazakh side raised issues of strengthening trade relations, implementing joint projects in the space industry, stepping up work on the transition of economies to digitalization, implementation of joint initiatives of member countries in the development of green technologies and innovations.

All initiatives and proposals of the heads of delegations, as noted by Lebedev, will be carefully analyzed by the CIS Executive Committee in order to prepare relevant documents on their practical implementation at the level of the statutory and sectoral bodies of the Commonwealth.

In general, the meeting participants expressed confidence that the decisions taken today and their subsequent implementation will contribute to the further deepening of cooperation within the Commonwealth.

In 2017, Kazakhstan's trade with the CIS countries grew by almost 25% and amounted to more than $22 billion, in the first half of 2018 this figure increased by 10.6% to $13.6 billion (in the same period of 2017 — $12.3 billion ). In January-July 2018, exports from Kazakhstan to the CIS countries grew by 16.9% and amounted to $5.3 billion.

The agenda of the meeting in an expanded format addressed 13 issues related to cooperation in the fields of energy, agriculture, social security, the space industry, tax administration, communication and innovation, protection of intellectual property rights, humanitarian interaction, etc.

The heads of government delegations highlighted the importance of the adopted Concept of cooperation of the CIS member states in the development of the production of high-tech energy equipment. This will allow expanding and modernizing production facilities, creating new high-performance jobs, as well as increasing research potential and, in general, strengthening the development of the energy sector, engineering and industry of the Commonwealth countries.

During the meeting, the reports of the Deputy Director General of the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation N. Spassky, the first vice-rector of the MEI National Research University V. Zamolodchikov were heard.

Following the meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of Government, a number of documents were signed:

Agreement on cooperation of the CIS member states on preparedness for a nuclear accident or a radiation emergency and mutual assistance in the aftermath of their consequences;
Agreement on cooperation for the prevention and elimination of foci of diseases and pests of the forest in the border areas of the CIS member states;
Agreement on the implementation of joint activities of the CIS member states in the field of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes;
The plan of measures for the implementation of the Agreement on cooperation of the CIS member states in the field of electronic and electrical equipment waste management from 01.06.2018;
Protocol on amendments to the agreement on cooperation in the development and use of cellular mobile communications systems, dated January 17, 1997;
The protocol on the exchange of information in electronic form between the CIS member states for the implementation of tax administration;
The decision on introducing changes to the Interstate Targeted Program “Reclamation of the territories of the states affected by uranium mining industries”;
The concept of cooperation of the CIS member states in the development of the production of high-tech energy equipment and the plan of the main measures for its implementation;
The procedure for the allocation of intellectual property rights created as a result of the implementation of interstate innovation projects and activities in the framework of the Interstate Innovation Cooperation Program of CIS member states until 2020;
Decision on financing the Action Plan 2019 on implementation of the Main Directions of Further Medical and Social Aid Development and Increasing the Quality of Life of War Veterans – participants of local conflicts and their family members within the CIS member-states until 2020;
Plan of priority measures in the field of humanitarian cooperation of the CIS member states for 2019-2020;
Agreement on the Protocol on amending the Agreement on Cooperation for Mobile Communications Development dated Jan 1, 1997.

In addition, a number of organizational issues have been resolved. The next chairing country is Turkmenistan. The next session of the CIS Heads of Government Council will take place in late May 2019 in Ashkhabad (Turkmenistan).

Stay in touch with the news of the Prime Minister and the Government of Kazakhstan — follow the official Telegram channel

Stay updated about the events of the Prime Minister and the Government of Kazakhstan - subscribe to the official Telegram channel