On October 8, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in a regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The summit, chaired by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, was attended by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, as well as CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev.

According to the agenda, an exchange of views on current state and prospects for developing multifaceted relations took place, and relevant issues of practical cooperation within the CIS were discussed. In his speech, the Head of our State highly assessed the results of Russia's chairmanship in the Commonwealth, during which multilateral cooperation developed in all areas. Particular attention was paid to the current situation related to ensuring security and sustainable development of the CIS countries. The importance of establishing systemic interaction between special services and competent agencies of the CIS countries, improving methods of combating modern challenges, taking coordinated measures in ensuring cybersecurity, as well as adopting program documents, was noted.

Strengthening joint work in the economic area of cooperation was identified as a priority. Since the beginning of the year, Uzbekistan’s trade turnover with the CIS countries has increased by 16 percent. There are numerous examples of successful industrial cooperation. The need to intensify the activities of CIS industry councils and committees was pointed out. It was proposed to hold a meeting of the CIS Economic Council and the Innovative Development Forum in spring next year within the framework of the International Industrial Exhibition "Innoprom" in Tashkent. The importance of supporting new priorities of long-term partnership was emphasized considering the results of the recent Tashkent Conference of Leading Analytical Centers of the CIS Countries. In particular, this concerns the development of Internet technologies and the "big data" industry, accelerated implementation of digital solutions, creative economy, green energy and nuclear technologies, climate challenges and others.

In this context, it was proposed to organize regular meetings of experts and analysts from the CIS countries and hold the next conference in the city of Samarkand, devoting it to the development of artificial intelligence. In order to expand humanitarian exchanges, it was proposed to hold Days of Culture of the Commonwealth states. Along with this, the need to prepare an annual program of joint events in the fields of healthcare, education, art, cinema, tourism and sports was emphasized. The implementation of projects within the framework of declaring Samarkand and Tashkent the cultural and youth capitals of the Commonwealth, respectively, was noted with satisfaction. Additionally, Uzbekistan will host open CIS chess and football cups among youth teams.

In conclusion, the President of Uzbekistan congratulated the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on assuming the chairmanship of the Organization in 2025. As a result of the summit, a number of agreements and decisions were adopted on priority areas of interaction within the CIS.