CIS foreign ministers hold talks in Minsk
The CIS Foreign Ministers Council has held a meeting in the Belarusian capital Minsk, focusing on discussions of 18 draft documents in humanitarian assistance, security and other fields, according to the state-run Azerbaijani news agency AzerTag.
The agenda included projects related to the celebration of an anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of the 1940s.
The CIS considered a possibility to declare 2015 the CIS Year of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
The participants of the session were also to discuss common awards to be instituted to mark the anniversary of the great victory in World War II.
The foreign ministers of the CIS member states discussed a draft action plan to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the war. The document envisages about 60 various events, including large-scale and long-term ones.
The CIS Foreign Ministers Council was also to consider the draft cooperation strategy in tourism for the period until 2020. The draft agreement had been developed in the context of the suggested announcement of 2014 the Year of Tourism in the CIS. The document sets forth objectives, principles, targets and mechanisms to promote cooperation in tourism and to create a common tourism space in the CIS.
The participants of the session also discussed a number of draft decisions, including an action plan for 2014-2015 to implement the International Youth Cooperation Strategy until 2020.
The foreign ministers were also to discuss and approve a number of decisions in the field of security. Those are draft cooperation programs pertaining to anti-terrorism efforts, combating illegal trade in narcotic drugs and trafficking in humans.
Also on the agenda was a draft agreement on the establishment of Interstate Anti-Corruption Council. The council is to help harmonize national anti-corruption laws, put forward proposals to improve the CIS legal framework, coordinate the cooperation between interested agencies and bodies and monitor the implementation of anti-corruption agreements.
The next session of the CIS council is scheduled for April 4 in Moscow.