DUSHANBE, October 30, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik President Emomali Rahmon Friday morning received officials of the CIS member nations who arrived in Dushanbe to participate in a session of the CIS Council of Heads of Government.

According to the Tajik president’s official website, the meeting focused on the issues related to further expansion of cooperation between the CIS member nations.

Emomali Rahmon reportedly drew attention of the CIS prime ministers to negative impacts of the global economic and financial crisis effects.  He called on the CIS nations to expand economic and security cooperation.

A special attention was paid to latest developments in northern Afghanistan and their supposed impacts on the Central Asian region and the CIS southern borders.  

The CIS Council of Heads of Government was established on December 21, 1991.  The council is the second major body in the CIS after the CIS Council of Heads of State, and consists of the prime ministers of all member states.  The council coordinates the CIS member states'' cooperation in economic, social and other areas of their common interests, and adopts corresponding decisions through consensus.  The CIS Council of Heads of Government convenes twice a year, normally in winter and autumn. Extraordinary meetings are summoned on the initiative of the government of a member state.

Established on December 8, 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization.  It now consists of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.  Georgia pulled out of the organization in 2009.