The traditional informal summit of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders before the New Year confirms the intention of the countries to further develop cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, opening a session of the summit.
He expressed gratitude to the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for accepting the invitation and coming to St. Petersburg. "The fact that we have once again gathered in such a friendly circle, in my opinion, eloquently testifies to our desire to further jointly build cooperation in the CIS in the spirit of a genuine strategic partnership, mutual benefit and taking into account the interests of all countries," Putin said.
He suggested summarizing the CIS performance in 2022, talking about future plans and discussing issues of concern to all leaders on the regional and international agenda.
According to the president of Russia, the multifaceted interaction of the association states has generally developed successfully. "This is confirmed by the steady growth in trade between us and Russia with all the CIS countries. Between January and October, it rose by 6.6% to $81.5 billion, and we have reasons to expect that it will reach $100 billion this year," Putin added.
He pointed out that this is happening against the backdrop of a difficult situation caused by volatility in global markets, unfavorable global economic conditions, as well as sanctions pressure from some countries. "CIS countries began to more actively switch to national currencies in mutual settlements, the Commonwealth took coordinated measures aimed at import substitution and ensuring technological sovereignty, independence, increase of joint industrial production and scientific potential," said Putin.
As a result, he stressed, the economic and financial sovereignty of the CIS countries was strengthened, domestic markets for goods, services and capital were dynamically developing, and regional integration was deepening.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS