Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States are interested in establishing institutions of the CIS Observer and Partner in order to develop international cooperation. This was discussed at a meeting of the expert group to review the relevant draft Regulations and Model Protocols, which took place on 2 March at the headquarters of the Commonwealth. 

The meeting was attended by representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the CIS Executive Committee. Turkmenistan sent a written position on the issue under consideration.

The meeting participants exchanged views on the content of the specific rights and obligations of the Observer and the Partner, which determine the level of involvement in cooperation with the CIS and its bodies.

It was decided to hold the next expert meeting to consider draft documents on 31 March.

The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, came up with the initiative to establish the institutions of a Partner and an Observer to the CIS. Potential partners and observers, according to the Kazakh side, can be countries and international organizations in cooperation with which the CIS member states are interested. At the same time, international organizations are seen as the most likely contenders, in cooperation with which the Commonwealth already gives priority at the current stage and has signed practical documents on cooperation.

The CIS Executive Committee interacts with the working bodies of more than 20 international organizations, including memorandums and protocols with 15 of them, letters of cooperation have been exchanged. Among them are the OSCE, IOM, WTO, UNECE, Council of Europe, CSTO, EEC.

It has become traditional for the representatives of the Executive Committee to participate in events held jointly or under the auspices of these international structures, the topics of which are devoted to a different range of issues of mutual interest.

In this context, it seems logical and in demand, first of all for the Commonwealth itself and its member states, to create legal conditions for systematic rapprochement with other international organizations and countries through the formation of Observer and Partner institutions.