Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states meet in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, Sept. 16, 2016. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Foreign Ministers Council meeting was held in Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Friday in the run-up to the CIS Jubilee Summit. The Foreign Ministers of the CIS member states discussed and confirmed the draft documents of the summit to be signed by CIS leaders. (Xinhua/Roman Gainanov)
BISHKEK, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The heads of the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will adopt a statement on joint efforts to counter terrorism at the CIS Jubilee Summit, said a Tass report Friday.
The agenda and draft documents of the summit were discussed and confirmed by the foreign ministers of the CIS member states in a meeting of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council held in Bishkek on Friday.
A total of 16 issues were discussed at the meeting, which include practical measures on the further expansion of multifaceted cooperation between the CIS countries, as well as the world drug problem and further steps to optimize the activities of the CIS.
"The foreign ministers approved the draft decision on the adaption of the CIS to the modern realities and all the above mentioned documents will be submitted for consideration by the heads of state," Sergei Lebedev, head of the CIS Executive Committee, was quoted as saying.
The ministers also agreed to hold the next meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on April 7, 2017.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union. Nine out of the 15 former Soviet Republics are member states, and two are associate members (Ukraine and Turkmenistan). Georgia withdrew its membership in 2008, while the Baltic states (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia) refused to participate.