During the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State, held in Ashgabat under the chairmanship of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the head of Turkmenistan outlined Turkmenistan’s position on Afghan issues and called for coordinating the efforts of the Commonwealth to address the problems in Afghanistan. As emphasized, presiding over the CIS in 2019, Turkmenistan has identified the main task – to provide all-round support for the development of the CIS potential, filling the activities of the Commonwealth with new content in accordance with the objective requirements of the day. In this regard, the President of Turkmenistan emphasized that one of the important areas of cooperation was a systematic joint work to ensure peace, security and stability, and effective partnership in countering modern challenges and threats. “It is not easy to achieve this goal. We all see what complicated processes are observed in the world today, including in the immediate vicinity of the borders of the Commonwealth. Without dramatizing them, however, we have to clearly understand what consequences and potential risks they may bear for our countries”, said the President of Turkmenistan. “It seems that one of the factors that must be taken into account in the joint political and diplomatic work is the situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”, continued President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. “Turkmenistan, as the state neighboring Afghanistan, is actively participating in international efforts aimed at strengthening stability in this country, reviving its socio-economic infrastructure, and providing humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people”. Confirming the readiness of neutral Turkmenistan to provide its political space for the negotiation process on Afghan issues in cooperation with the UN and other interested international organizations, the President of Turkmenistan expressed belief that this dialogue should be conducted with the leading role of the Afghan side. At the same time, it was emphasized that Afghanistan-friendly states should take an active part in the implementation of economic projects, aimed at creating and strengthening the energy, transport, communication and industrial foundations of the Afghan economy. To this goal, today our country, together with its Afghan partners, is implementing a number of international projects. In addition, Turkmenistan provides humanitarian assistance to the Afghan population on a regular basis, including construction of schools, hospitals and other social facilities. “We think that such an integrated approach to solving political, economic and humanitarian issues will allow us to effectively resolve Afghanistan’s issues and problems in the future”, the President of Turkmenistan emphasized. Defining the main vectors of coordinated work of the CIS in the Afghan direction, the President of Turkmenistan called for CIS Ministers of Foreign Affairs to hold political consultations in the near future.