Meeting of the Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States

On October 8, the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), currently chaired by Russia, met in Moscow . The leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are taking part in it.

There is a Free Trade Agreement between CIS member countries, but the CIS FTA differs from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in that CIS members enter into bilateral trade agreements with each other rather than acting as a collective bloc. Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia are also members of the EAEU. The issue of their unification has been discussed. The CIS has a total area of 20.36 million km2 and a population of about 240 million. CIS GDP is estimated at US$5.5 trillion (PPP) and the average GDP per capita is US$22,500 (PPP). The Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.74, which is considered high.

The CIS is somewhat derided in the Western media in comparison to the European Union, but the World Bank has stated that “there is no evidence that the CIS countries as a group lag significantly behind in trade openness or export levels compared to countries with similar GDP per capita and population size,” although it has suggested that the CIS’s development potential is underutilized. The Bank also stated that “the CIS free trade area is a favorable trade-enhancing bloc. It has a free trade regime, agreements on mutual recognition of standards and non-restrictive rules of origin.”

Current CIS GDP growth is estimated at 4.7% in 2024, rising to 5% next year. EU sanctions against Russia have proved economically beneficial for the CIS economies and after a period of adjustment, transit trade has shown significant growth. According to Statista, per capita income in all CIS countries will also grow in the next three years.

European Union GDP growth forecasts are for 1.2% in 2024 and 1.6% in 2025. GDP per capita figures in Europe are also declining slightly, while tax burdens are increasing.

During the summit, the leaders discussed the key tasks of cooperation between the CIS countries, as well as current regional and international problems. Following the summit, the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed a package of documents promoting cooperation in the economic, cultural, law enforcement, humanitarian and military spheres.

The next meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State will be held on October 10, 2025 in Dushanbe.