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CIS Foreign Ministers Council to meet in Tashkent

30 March 2017 12:48 (UTC+04:00)
CIS Foreign Ministers Council to meet in Tashkent

By Kamila Aliyeva

The CIS Foreign Ministers Council plans to consider 16 issues at the meeting in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent scheduled for April 7.

A draft statement by foreign ministers on the inadmissibility of discrimination and intolerance against Christians, Muslims and representatives of other faiths is among the most relevant issues, according to the website of the CIS Executive Committee.

The Russian side is the developer of the statement and the initiator of its adoption.

The document, in particular, notes the importance of establishing mutual tolerance and respect among citizens, who profess different religions and refuse to profess any, between religious organizations of different faiths, preventing religious fanaticism or extremism and actions aimed at opposing and aggravating relations, inciting hatred between various denominations.

Besides, the results of the multi-level inter-ministerial consultations in 2016 will be summed up and the plan for 2017 will be approved. This year, it is planned to hold traditional consultations on cooperation in international organizations, the information sphere, counteracting contemporary challenges and threats, disarmament issues and issues of economic cooperation.

Moreover, the Council of Ministers will decide on the implementation of the program "Cultural Capitals of the Commonwealth" in 2018 in Armenia (Goris), in 2019 in Belarus (Brest), and in 2020 in Kazakhstan (Shymkent).

The heads of the foreign affairs agencies will also consider the issue of giving the Nizhny Novgorod Academy of the Russian Interior Ministry the status of the basic organization responsible for the training of personnel for tax (financial) investigation on educational programs in higher education and additional professional programs.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was created in December 1991. The CIS united Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

However, in 2008 Georgia withdrew its membership.

The CIS has few supranational powers but aims to be more than a purely symbolic organization, nominally possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security.

Integration of the countries in the framework of the CIS is executed through its coordinating institutions (charter bodies, executive bodies and the bodies of branch cooperation of the CIS).

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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