MINSK, 20 April (BelTA) - CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev expressed confidence that Belarus would make a good host of the 2nd CIS Games as he spoke to the media on 20 April, BelTA has learned.
A regular session of the CIS plenipotentiaries took place in Minsk on 20 April. The plenipotentiaries summed up the results of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council meeting in Samarkand on 14 April, and outlined the tasks for the implementation of the documents and agreements adopted during the meeting.
The CIS Foreign Ministers Council considered ten issues, including the organization of the CIS spartakiads among children with disabilities, implementation of the plan of multilevel interagency consultations and the 2022 Action Plan on intensifying the partnership between the foreign ministries, and choice of the CIS sports capitals for the next two years.
“The meeting participants also discussed other issues related to humanitarian activities, including sports games in the CIS space. The sports games will be held in Belarus. Intensive preparations are underway, and this was reported by Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik to the participants of the foreign ministers meeting. It is noteworthy that other countries expressed their support of the Games. We really hope that these Games will be well-organized and successful, and the CIS countries will be represented by their athletes in these competitions,” Sergei Lebedev said.
The participants in the meeting also considered the issues of granting the CIS Capital of Culture status. “Samarkand was declared the CIS Capital of Culture in 2024. The issue of granting the CIS Youth Capital status was considered as well - Tashkent will hold this status in 2024. Everyone noted the growing activity of Uzbekistan in the CIS. The fact that the meeting was held in Samarkand and the city received the CIS Capital of Culture status proves the country’s increasing activity in the CIS integration cooperation. The ministers agreed that the meeting was productive and successful. Corresponding decisions have been made on all the issues. The next meeting will take place in Bishkek on 12 October, ahead of the CIS Heads of State summit,” the secretary general added.
The CIS Plenipotentiaries Council also took stock of the progress made in the implementation of activities dedicated to the Year of Folk Arts and Cultural Heritage in the Commonwealth of Independent States. “Last year a lot of cultural events were held in the CIS. The citizens of our countries are drawn to culture, art, and folk art, and our task is to keep the mutual interest and exchange of achievements between our countries,” Sergei Lebedev stressed.