Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 18 December 2023, a meeting of the Council of Heads of Governments of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in Moscow. This was reported by the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov, Chairman of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers - Head of the Administration of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Japarov, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Kohir Rasulzoda, Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Khojamyrat Geldimyradov, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev.

The participants of the meeting received a video greeting from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

The meeting participants exchanged views on current issues of multilateral cooperation and cultural and humanitarian interaction in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

A Statement by the Heads of Governments of the CIS member states on the prospects for cultural and humanitarian cooperation was adopted. It recognizes the high potential of such interaction for the development of partnership relations, friendship and good neighborliness between countries, expresses the desire to strengthen friendly ties, expand and deepen cooperation between states in the field of culture, and confirms the key goals of cultural and humanitarian cooperation within the Commonwealth.

The document speaks of the desire to promote the deepening of intercultural dialogue, strengthening mutual understanding and mutual respect for the cultural traditions of the CIS countries, readiness to build up the entire range of interstate interaction in the cultural and humanitarian sphere on the basis of mutual respect and taking into account the interests of all states.

It is envisaged that the Kyrgyz side, as presiding over the Commonwealth of Independent States, will distribute the text of the Statement to the UN and other international organizations.