MINSK, 9 February (BelTA) – The Commonwealth of Independent States will be reformed. The relevant decisions will be made at the jubilee session of the CIS Heads of State Council in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, BelTA learned from Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan to Belarus, Kyrgyzstan's Resident Representative in CIS charter bodies and other agencies, on 9 February.
The diplomat remarked that the CIS is an international organization that has matured and will continue working. The question is whether it needs some transformation. “There are some aspects concerning the CIS agencies that need to be revised. The process goes on in any live organization such as the OSCE, the UN, and the European Union. The CIS has existed for 25 years already. It is time for us to optimize its structure. Curtailing or demolishing the organization is not the idea. An analysis is in progress, the executive committee is working on it. The heads of state will make the decision in Bishkek on 16 September,” explained Kubanychbek Omuraliev. He went on saying that radical changes were not planned.
At present there are about 70 charter and industry-specific agencies in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The optimization process will try to cut away redundant functions. “Thanks to the process financial costs will be reduced, performance will go up,” noted the Ambassador.
A regular session of the Council of resident plenipotentiary representatives of the CIS member states in the CIS charter bodies and other bodies is scheduled to take place in Minsk on 9 February. The draft agenda of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council session, which is scheduled to take place in Moscow on 8 April, is supposed to be worked out. The document will deal with cooperation in politics, exchange of geospatial data and personal data, the execution of court rulings, and equal university admission rights for citizens of the CIS member states. A number of documents will be dedicated to cooperation in the area of healthcare, culture, and the establishment of basic organizations of the CIS member states in various spheres.
Apart from that, the resident plenipotentiary representatives will be able to see proposals concerning the draft agenda of the session of the CIS Heads of Government Council, which is scheduled to take place in Bishkek in late May.
Preparations for and the implementation of events timed to the 25th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States are being discussed as well as draft agendas of the next session to be held in March and the joint session of the Council of resident plenipotentiary representatives and the Economic Affairs Commission under the CIS Economic Council.
