RUSSIA, December 18 - Excerpts from the transcript:
Alexei Overchuk: The CIS Heads of Government Council, primarily on the development of cultural cooperation between our countries, has concluded.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin addressed the heads of government of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States with a welcome speech.
It should be noted that economic relations between the CIS member states are developing very dynamically. Trade between countries is growing. All countries are showing fairly good macroeconomic indicators.
At the same time, we decided that in 2024, when the chairmanship of the commonwealth passes to the Russian Federation, the topic of developing cultural and humanitarian cooperation should be a priority, considering its importance in preserving the ties that have historically developed between our countries.
In this context, the heads of our governments discussed a very wide agenda covering culture, education, science, sport, tourism, and of course, above all, the close, family-like ties between our nations, between our people, that essentially make it possible to preserve the commonality inherent to our peoples and countries.
Following today’s meeting, the heads of government signed a statement on the prospects for cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere, written to maintain and develop intercultural dialogue, cooperation in the field of education, and in the development of our national languages.
The heads of government noted that, under the Kyrgyz presidency, which ends this year, an important document was signed on the creation of the International Organisation for the Russian Language which will operate from Sochi and which was created on the initiative and at the proposal of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The statement also contains a section concerning the development of institutional cooperation in the cultural sphere. There will be tours, film festivals, exhibitions – a variety of cultural events that will continue to bring our countries and peoples closer together and in a way that the young people in our countries can also say that they are part of this cultural and historical community, our Commonwealth of Independent States.
