Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A regular meeting of the Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives of the Commonwealth Member States (CPPR CIS) to the statutory and other bodies of the Commonwealth was held on 20 April at the CIS headquarters, the press service of the CIS Executive Committee reported.

The CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev took part in the meeting.

At the meeting, the permanent representatives summed up the results of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which took place in Samarkand on 14 April.

At the meeting of the Ministerial Council, which was traditionally held in narrow and wide formats, 10 issues were considered. Among them are the organization of sports days for children with disabilities, the implementation of the Plan of multi-level inter-MFA consultations and the Action Program to intensify partnership between foreign ministries in 2022. Members of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs determined the sports capitals of the Commonwealth for the next two years. In particular, in 2023 Minsk became the sports center of the CIS, a year later the Armenian Gyumri will take over.

Draft documents submitted for consideration by the Council of Heads of Governments and the Council of Heads of States of the Commonwealth, including the announcement of the cultural and youth capitals, were considered and approved.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs decided to give the status of the basic organization of the Commonwealth member states for the training and retraining of journalistic personnel to the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, approved the draft Agreement on Cooperation on Documenting Persons Subject to Forced Expulsion with Certificates of Return.

The Council of Permanent Representatives intends to contribute to the implementation of the decisions adopted at the meeting of the Ministerial Council, proposed to develop an appropriate work plan, as well as update the Roadmap for the implementation of initiatives expressed by the heads of delegations during meetings of the supreme bodies of the Commonwealth.

Members of the CPPR CIS discussed holding the Year of Folk Art and Cultural Heritage in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Aleksey Sazonov, Director of the Department for Humanitarian Cooperation, General Political and Social Problems of the CIS Executive Committee, provided information on this issue at the meeting. According to him, within the framework of the Year, 75 events were held, including both traditional forums for the calendar of events in the Commonwealth space, and new projects of general humanitarian orientation, to preserve the traditions of folk art and historical and cultural heritage, in the field of arts, literature, sports and tourism.

Alexey Sazonov noted that a number of projects were also implemented in the countries that were not provided for by the Action Plan for holding the Year of Folk Art and Cultural Heritage in the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2022, but fully reflecting its theme. For example, with the organizational and informational support of the CIS Executive Committee, Belarus hosted the Republican Festival of National Cultures, the International Festival of Traditional Culture "Braslav Skylightnings", the XXXII International Festival of Folk Music "The Ringing of Dulcimer and Harmonica", the X International Festival "Cherry Festival", the Republican Social -cultural project "Festival of two rivers". Kazakhstan hosted the International Exhibition "ART EXPO" of the CIS member states under the motto "Folk Art in the ART Space" and Dombra Day. In Russia, the Festival of National Orchestras, the first Children’s Cultural Forum, took place on the stage of the State Kremlin Palace. Uzbekistan hosted the International Dance Festival "Lazgi" and the VI International Congress "Cultural heritage of Uzbekistan - the foundation of a new Renaissance."

“It can be noted that the states have implemented an Action Plan for holding the Year of Folk Art and Cultural Heritage in the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2022. The work carried out by the bodies of sectoral cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, state bodies and organizations of the CIS countries in this direction contributed to further cultural dialogue and the development of humanitarian ties in the Commonwealth," Alexey Sazonov summed up.

In addition, the permanent representatives of the CIS countries supported the proposal of the Russian side on the adoption of the Press Release of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in connection with the celebration of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War.

Andrey Grozov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the statutory and other bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States, spoke to the audience about the updated Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation.

It is planned that the next meeting of the Council of Permanent Plenipotentiaries will be held on 30 May.