On July 3, 2026, the jubilee 60th meeting of the Interstate Council on Antimonopoly Policy took place in Astana, the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The meeting was attended by officials Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of the CIS Executive Committee, the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications and the Eurasian Economic Commission.
CIS Deputy Secretary-General Ilkhom Nematov addressed the Council meeting.
Expressing his gratitude to the organizers for the substantive preparation of the meeting, he congratulated the participants on the occasion of the jubilee 60th Council session.
Ilkhom Nematov noted that 2026 marks the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Alma-Ata Declaration (in Russian) of December 21, 1991, on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Undoubtedly, the past years have been challenging for the formation and recognition of the Commonwealth as a full-fledged international organization by the world community. He emphasized that all the republics of the former Soviet Union participating in the Commonwealth established themselves as sovereign states and embarked on the path of stable development,.
The CIS Deputy Secretary-General also noted that the process of establishing a competition culture in the CIS countries was proceeding with difficulty and slowly. The successful solution of the problem depended on the position and actual actions of the antimonopoly authorities, and the joint efforts in this area.
In accordance with the 2011 Treaty, the foundation of economic rapprochement remains the free trade area, supplemented in 2023 by the Agreement on Free Trade in Services and Investment (in Russian). The implementation of this document, which entered into force at the end of 2025, will undoubtedly allow for a 30% increase in mutual investment in the medium term.
The updated Concept of the CIS Development (in Russian) and the Economic Development Strategy for the period up to 2030 (in Russian) define key priorities, among which economic stability and trade and economic partnership lead. Despite the well-known difficulties associated with sanctions from third countries, the Commonwealth states are demonstrating stable growth in mutual trade and national economies, he noted.
The meeting participants reported on the most notable developments in the CIS member states in the field of antimonopoly policy, noting that the Commonwealth states were actively working to improve the legislative framework, the practice of applying antimonopoly legislation and the structure of the CIS antimonopoly bodies.
Information was presented on the activities of the Headquarters for Joint Investigations of Violations of Antimonopoly Legislation of the CIS Member States and on the practice of bringing business entities to administrative liability.
Following the event, a ceremony was held to award antimonopoly authorities officials of the CIS member states with the Council insignia and departmental awards.
The next Council meeting is scheduled for the second half of 2026.