CIS Summit Concludes with 19 Agreements Signed

The session of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) concluded with the signing of 19 important documents covering a wide range of cooperation, from organizational issues and security to international relations and institutional reforms.

Among the key decisions made are the confirmation of Turkmenistan's presidency in the CIS in 2026 and the extension of Sergey Lebedev's mandate as CIS Secretary General. The venue and dates for the next session of the Council of Heads of State were also decided. An innovation is the decision to create a "Commonwealth of Independent States Plus" format, which presumably aims to expand the structure's cooperation framework with other countries and organizations.

A significant part of the signed documents relates to the security sector. The leaders approved cooperation programs for the fight against terrorism and extremism for 2026-2028, as well as for strengthening border security on external borders for 2026-2030. The concept of military cooperation of the CIS member states until 2030 was also signed. Joint statements were adopted on deepening cooperation in the fight against transnational crime and money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

An important step was taken at the summit to strengthen inter-structural ties by deciding to grant the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) observer status at the CIS. In addition, joint statements were adopted on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN and the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

Among the other documents signed are a declaration on cooperation in the field of regional energy security, a decision on the activities of the human rights commission, as well as a protocol on the termination of the 1993 agreement on assistance to refugees and forcibly displaced persons.