Today, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov left for a working visit to the Russian Federation, where he took part in an informal meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States, held in St. Petersburg.

At the Ashgabat International Airport, the head of Turkmenistan was seen off by officials.

Under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, our Fatherland is consistently implementing a foreign policy course based on the principles of peacefulness, positive neutrality and broad mutually beneficial cooperation. In this constructive strategy, great importance is attached to strengthening multifaceted partnerships within the framework of authoritative international organizations and structures.

Being an associate member of the CIS in accordance with its neutral status, Turkmenistan takes an active position in the development of fruitful cooperation in the Commonwealth space, taking into account the existing solid potential. With the CIS states, our country is united by traditional ties of friendship and good neighborliness, close historical and cultural ties, which serves as a solid foundation for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and enriching its content.

... A few hours later, the presidential airliner landed at the Pulkovo International Airport in St. Petersburg, where the head of Turkmenistan was met by officials.

From the air harbor, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov headed to the venue of the current informal CIS Summit - the Konstantinovsky Palace.

This architectural monument of the 18th century is the main component of the palace and park ensemble in Strelna. Well-known European architects worked on the project of the complex. In the modern era, as a result of large-scale restoration and reconstruction works, this historical ensemble was revived and acquired the status of a state residence.

Currently, the Konstantinovsky Palace is the architectural dominant of the State Complex "Palace of Congresses", which opened its doors to the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Important events are held here, including high-level meetings, as well as conferences, cultural forums, etc. It is noteworthy that the Palace of Congresses is also available for public visits and excursions. Today, the Konstantinovsky Palace and Park Ensemble is one of the most significant tourist sites in St. Petersburg.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as the Prime Minister Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

The leaders of the CIS states are invited to the Marble Hall, where the informal Summit took place.

Opening the meeting, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin once again warmly welcomed its participants. Expressing gratitude to everyone for accepting the invitation to visit St. Petersburg, the head of Russia noted that the current meeting would provide an opportunity in a friendly atmosphere to exchange views on topical issues of cooperation in its priority vectors, to “synchronize watches” before the annual full-format meeting of the Council of Heads of states of the CIS.

Today, the partnership agenda in the Commonwealth space includes a wide range of areas, the solution of tasks for the implementation of the agreements reached, including at the interstate level.

In this regard, it should be noted that in recent years, Turkmenistan has also repeatedly become a venue for important meetings, forums and various events under the auspices of the CIS. In an effort to fully contribute to building up effective cooperation, our country regularly puts forward specific proposals aimed at developing new relevant forms of partnership and implementing promising joint projects.

Here, as one of the illustrative examples, one can cite the Declaration on Strategic Economic Cooperation of the CIS Member States, initiated by the Hero-Arkadag. Recall that this concept document was unanimously approved and adopted following the results of the Commonwealth Summit held in Ashgabat in October 2019, in which our country chaired the CIS. It is on the key principles of the above-mentioned Declaration that the CIS Economic Development Strategy until 2030 is based, which specifies the main areas of partnership with a long-term perspective.

The Commonwealth states, united by geography and historically established ties, have objective advantages, the optimal use of which is in the interests of common well-being. This is primarily the aim of Turkmenistan's initiatives to bring cooperation within the CIS to wider geographic and economic horizons. In view of the existing potential, the priority areas here are transport, communications and logistics, energy,