Commenting on Turkmenistan's chairmanship of the organization in 2026, Sergey Lebedev, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), emphasized that the country's geographic location determines the priority of economic issues, including the development of transit and transport corridors. Sergey Lebedev made this statement at a meeting of the Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives of the CIS Member States, held on January 29 in Minsk under Turkmenistan's chairmanship.

Sergey Lebedev also named energy among the key areas of the Concept for Turkmenistan's CIS Presidency in 2026, noting Turkmenistan's role as an important supplier of oil and gas.

Speaking at the event, Nazarguly Shagulyev, Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Belarus, noted that the country's chairmanship of the CIS is viewed as a continuation of its foreign policy based on the principles of permanent neutrality, good-neighborliness, and equal partnership.

As part of its chairmanship, Turkmenistan will host the CIS Heads of State Summit, which will take place on October 9, 2026, in the Avaza National Tourist Zone on the Caspian coast. This was reported on the website turkmennebit.gov.tm.