MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – The CIS Executive Committee in Minsk hosted the first 2026 meeting of the CIS Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives, held under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan, BelTA has learned.
The main item on the agenda for the meeting of the permanent plenipotentiary representatives was the presentation of the Concept for Turkmenistan’s 2026 CIS Chairmanship and the action plan for its implementation. In addition, the meeting reviewed the Council’s work plan for 2026, the draft agenda of the next meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers, and the implementation of the Development of CIS Statistics project.
Nazarkuly Shakulyev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to Belarus, Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of Turkmenistan to the CIS, noted that Turkmenistan’s chairmanship is an important stage in continuing the country’s consistent policy based on the principles of neutrality. These include good neighborliness, mutual respect, and equal partnership.
“Turkmenistan views the CIS as a key regional platform that unites countries with a shared history, language, interests, and economy. Accordingly, Turkmenistan’s CIS Chairmanship Concept for 2026 is built upon these pillars. A number of events are planned both in Turkmenistan and at venues in the CIS member states,” Nazarkuly Shakulyev said.
Commenting on Turkmenistan’s chairmanship in the CIS, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev emphasized that, given the country’s geographical location, economic issues would become a priority.
“Several very important transport routes pass through Turkmenistan, namely the East-West and North-South corridors. Discussions are currently underway with Moscow, Baku, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan on expanding these routes. The second issue is energy, as Turkmenistan is also a source of oil and gas, and ensuring their supplies is also one of the important points of the Concept presented today,” Sergey Lebedev said.
Furthermore, according to the CIS secretary general, Turkmenistan places special emphasis on humanitarian cooperation. For instance, the country hosts the School Sports Festival; Ashgabat hosted the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017, with many new sports facilities built for this event. Since Soviet times, it has had its own hockey team, and Turkmen athletes perform well on the world stage.
“Therefore, in 2026, sports competitions and cultural forums will be held in Turkmenistan. In particular, the CIS Forum of Creative and Scientific Intellectuals will take place,” Sergey Lebedev noted.
Answering journalists’ questions, the CIS secretary general also commented on the statement by the Moldovan leadership about withdrawing from the CIS.
“In fact, withdrawal from the CIS is accompanied by a whole series of procedures during the year. In March, they intend to withdraw from the fundamental CIS documents. But this is just a statement, and similar ones have been made before. At the same time, Moldova intends to remain a party to a number of agreements that are beneficial to it. Therefore, there is no clarity on how this will happen, what will follow the statement of withdrawal from the CIS, and how it will be implemented regarding Moldova’s participation in other agreements,” Sergey Lebedev said.
Photo by Nikolai Petrov/BelTA
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