DUSHANBE, November 9, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- The 29th two-day meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of CIS Nations opened in Dushanbe yesterday, according to the press service of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS).

The meeting is dedicated to discuss issues related to further expansion of cooperation in combating, international terrorism, religious extremism, as well as countering trafficking in weapons and narcotics.

Representatives of a number of European countries, including Germany, France and Italy are attending the meeting as observers, the source said.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization.  The CIS is comparable to a very loose association of states and in no way comparable to a federation, confederation or supra-national organization.  Although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely symbolic organization, possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security.  It has also promoted cooperation on democratization and cross-border crime prevention. As a regional organization, CIS participates in UN peacekeeping forces.

The CIS now groups Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.  Georgia pulled out of the organization in 2009.