Baku, October 25 (AZERTAC). President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is attending a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State, which kicked off in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Friday.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko welcomed the CIS Heads of State at the Independence Palace.

The CIS Presidents first met in private.

Prior to informing the Presidents on the agenda of the summit, the Belarus leader congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his confident victory in presidential election, and wished him successes in his post.

President Alexander Lukashenko said the meeting would feature discussions over 14 draft documents on cooperation in a variety of fields.

The declaration of the year 2014 as the Tourism Year in CIS and the year 2015 as the Year of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 will be on the agenda, he said.

“In the humanitarian field, much attention will be given to preparations for celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The agenda also will include discussions on the work carried out last year, and exchange of views on a range of topics.”

The Heads of State will also focus on cooperation in economic and humanitarian areas, and explore ways of ensuring human and financial security as well as projects to speed up integration processes in the organization.

Chairman and Executive Secretary of the CIS Executive Committee Sergei Lebedev provided an insight into the agenda of the meeting.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for his congratulations.

The Head of State expressed confidence that the cooperation and friendly ties between the two countries, as well as their joint activities to ensure and strengthen stability and peace in the region would continue.

President Ilham Aliyev noted CIS countries share same historical roots, saying that the people of the Commonwealth gained a great victory over the fascism in the Great Patriotic War.

The President also noted the CIS countries enjoy fruitful political and economic bonds.

The Head of State provided an insight into the Baku International Humanitarian Forum, which will be held in the Azerbaijani capital in several days.

The meeting also heard reports by other CIS Heads of State.

Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted the importance of boosting cooperation and integration processes among the CIS countries, as well as the necessity of joint efforts to combat terrorism.

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The CIS Heads of State then had an expanded meeting.

Speaking to the event, President Alexander Lukashenko said they would focus on a range of issues, including transport, energy, space industry, and nanotechnologies.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich highlighted projects to be implemented during his country`s presidency of the CIS in 2014. The Ukrainian leader put forward a proposal to organize the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State in Kiev next October.

Following the expanded meeting the Heads of State and Government signed a package of documents, and then attended a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for an alley of honorary guests of the Independence Palace.

The Heads of State, including President Ilham Aliyev, planted trees in the alley.

The ceremony was followed by a dinner hosted by chairman of the CIS Council of Heads of State, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in honor of the participants of the event.