Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took the decision at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday, media reported.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev joined other leaders attending the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan in visiting participating countries' national stands at the Awaza Complex.
The Azerbaijani stand features books on national art, samples of carpet weaving, ceramics, kelaghayi and shebeke craftsmanship, as well as informational videos showcasing these forms of cultural heritage.
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has urged Central Asian leaders to move beyond simple trade and make finished products together.
He proposed a shared computing network of national data centres, a regional alliance on critical minerals and a new council to coordinate transport links at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
He also announced a Central Asia-Azerbaijan business forum in the Uzbek city of Khiva in 2027 and warned that water scarcity is increasingly constraining growth.
A commission will be established to investigate the causes of falling water levels in the Caspian Sea and coordinate measures to address the problem, leaders of Caspian littoral countries agreed at the Caspian Environmental Summit in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday.
The commission will be able to create specialist working groups involving government representatives and experts from the five countries bordering the Caspian Sea: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.
Governments have three months to appoint their representatives, with the commission’s first meeting scheduled to take place in Azerbaijan in the first half of 2027. Its rules of procedure will be approved at that meeting.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the CIS summit in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also attended the meeting, among other officials.
A meeting is underway in Awaza, Turkmenistan between Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said the decline in the Caspian Sea’s water level is linked not only to climate change, but also to reduced river inflow and human activity.
Speaking at the Caspian Environmental Summit in Awaza, Turkmenistan, Aliyev called for an assessment of the long-term consequences of the changes and for them to be factored into decision-making.
“We believe that the necessary legal framework, scientific potential and experience of interaction provide a solid foundation for achieving concrete practical results,” the Azerbaijani President noted.
Preserving the Caspian Sea's ecosystem is a shared responsibility of all countries situated on the body of water, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has told the Caspian Environmental Summit in Awaza, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan's Report News Agency has said.
The Caspian Environmental Summit is happening alongside the CIS summit and is being attended by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
All five countries border the Caspian Sea.
CIS member states have agreed to establish a shared register of digital forensics data in order to strengthen their fight against cybercrime, the state Turkmenistan News Portal has reported.
The decision was taken at the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday.
Countries have also agreed to share material and best practices aimed at preventing cybercrime.
CIS member states have agreed to hold populations censuses around 2030, the state Turkmenistan News Portal has reported.
The decision was made at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday.
The CIS's statistical services agency will approve a list of socio-economic and migration indicators next year to harmonise the accounting of migration and labour force flows in member countries.
The last CIS census began in 2020 and ended in 2024. The national census was held in nine out of 10 CIS countries, covering 215 million people, about 85 per cent of the population of the Commonwealth.
Uzbekistan was the only country not to hold a full census last time around, although it conducted a localised pilot census in 2021 covering around half a million people.
Russia's trade turnover with CIS member countries exceeded $110 billion last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. He made the remarks at a meeting of leaders from CIS countries in Awaza, Turkmenistan, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Azerbaijan will assume the chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2028 for the first time since gaining independence, with Uzbekistan taking the role in 2027.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict had previously been a key obstacle to Baku taking on the role.
The chairmanship will add to Azerbaijan’s leadership of several regional organisations, including the Organization of Turkic States, and Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia.
Azerbaijan will also chair the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2027, and host the European Political Community Summit in 2028.
Chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) passes between countries in alphabetical order.
In 2027, Uzbekistan will take the helm of the group, CIS's Secretary-General Sergei Lebedev formally announced in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday.
The decision was made public as part of the summit's official proceedings, the state Turkmenistan News Portal reported.
Leaders from Central Asian countries, as well as Azerbaijan and Russia, attended the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday.
Before the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting today, on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held direct talks on the sidelines of the CIS summit.
Putin acknowledged Iran's efforts aimed at ending war in the region and offered to help mediate. Pezeshkian said the U.S. and Iran were looking at new proposals to end the conflict.
Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is an accomplished fact, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said, during remarks at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
Pashinyan made reference to the peace agreement initialed with Azerbaijan, in which both parties confirm they have no territorial claims against each other and will not make such claims in the future.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has thanked leaders of CIS countries for supporting Baku's efforts to declare the city of Lachin the Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth.
He made the remarks at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
“The large-scale events held in Lachin last year allowed our guests to become more closely acquainted with the rich and ancient history of this region. Our guests were able to witness firsthand its rapid revival, as well as the scale of the ongoing restoration work,” Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has welcomed the frequency of high-level contacts between Baku and Ashgabat in remarks at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
He added that relations between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are based on centuries-old ties of friendship and brotherhood and have the character of a strategic partnership.
Azerbaijan is prepared to chair CIS in 2028, President Ilham Aliyev has told the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan was ready to organise a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in autumn of that year.
Azerbaijan aims to increase freight transport along the East-West and North-South corridors to 15 million tonnes in each direction, President Ilham Aliyev has told the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
He said that in the first half of 2026, the volume of transit freight through Azerbaijan increased by 10 per cent, reaching almost eight million tonnes of cargo.
Aliyev added that the medium-term goal was to increase freight transportation through Azerbaijan along the East–West and North–South routes to 15 million tonnes in each direction.
Turkmenistan is taking its turn to chair the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) this year.
The chair sets the agenda for the year and hosts regional leaders at CIS events.
Turkmenistan has declared 2029 the Year of CIS Transport Connectivity.
The CIS Council of Head of States meeting is taking place in the western Turkmen resort town of Awaza.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has proved itself as a platform for political, economic and humanitarian cooperation in recent years, Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdimuhamedow has said.
He made the remarks as he opened the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan, the country's state Turkmenistan News Portal reported.
Berdimuhamedow added that the CIS format strengthens trust and mutual understanding between nations.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has arrived at the CIS Council Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan.
He was greeted by Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdimuhamedow.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the country was more concerned about avoiding a fate like Russia’s, responding to Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev’s warning about the risk of Armenia’s “Ukrainization”.
“We want Armenia not to turn into a new Russia, meaning that explosions are taking place in the most diverse places in Russia,” the Armenian Prime Minister said on Thursday.
Alongside the CIS Summit, there are two other events happening in Turkmenistan coinciding with the event.
One of these is the Caspian Ecological Summit, where officials will address the issue of declining water levels in the Caspian Sea.
The reducing water levels have implications for shipping and port infrastructure, biodiversity, offshore energy operations, coastal industries and regional connectivity.
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have established a Supreme Council of Strategic Partnership, which creates an institutional framework for strengthening political communication and increasing cooperation between the two countries.
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdimuhamedow signed the agreement during a meeting on the sidelines of the CIS summit in the western Turkmen resort town of Awaza on Thursday.
Follow for the latest updates from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Turkmenistan.
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