Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov took part in a regular meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States, held in Moscow (Russia).
In his speech, the head of government noted that Kazakhstan is interested in further joint work on the CIS platform to deepen integration ties and fill it with new practical content.
The priorities put forward by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the last meeting of the Council of Heads of State are designed to intensify cooperation in the CIS format. First of all, to overcome emerging challenges, search for new areas to strengthen productive partnership," Alikhan Smailov said.
Thus, one of the key areas of joint work in the coming year will be cooperation to expand cultural and humanitarian ties, as well as cooperation in the fields of healthcare, education and sports.
The Prime Minister noted that Kazakhstan welcomes the announcement of 2024 as the Year of the Volunteer Movement in the CIS.
"Today, thanks to their selfless deeds, volunteers of the Commonwealth countries continue to make a significant contribution to the development of a tolerant society, maintaining a culture of mercy and kindness. I call on the CIS states to start practical work on the implementation of Kazakhstan's initiative to establish an annual Volunteer Forum and give it the status of a permanent platform for the Organization," he said.
Speaking about deepening cooperation in the field of healthcare, Alikhan Smailov outlined the importance of the work carried out in the field of physical culture and sports.
A serious achievement in this direction is the creation this year of the organizational and legal framework for holding sports competitions of the CIS countries among children with disabilities and CIS championships.
"Kazakhstan supports this work and plans to take an active part in the upcoming competitions," he said.
According to him, another important area of cooperation is the provision of high-quality and affordable medical care to citizens of the CIS countries.
"The mechanisms of cooperation in the healthcare sector developed within the CIS have contributed to overcoming the large-scale coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, our countries are once again facing massive diseases, among which the measles outbreak deserves special mention. In this regard, we call for intensifying all existing mechanisms of interaction in the CIS, including the Council for Cooperation in the Field of Healthcare," the Prime Minister said.
He added that Kazakhstan, with the support of the World Health Organization, proposed to create a Coalition of Countries on Primary Health Care.
"It will make it possible to promote the principles of prevention and health protection, to develop joint recommendations," Alikhan Smailov emphasized.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister noted that the common approaches of the CIS countries to the development of multifaceted cooperation in the field of culture are reflected in the draft Statement on the prospects for cultural cooperation.