A series of events of the Interparliamentary Assembly (IPA) of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will be held in Ashgabat on 19–20 November 2026, including the 61st plenary session of the Assembly. The IPA CIS session will be held in Turkmenistan for the first time, as the country holds the CIS chairmanship in 2026.
The programme will also include a meeting of the Council of the IPA CIS and meetings of the Assembly’s permanent commissions.
Preparations for the upcoming events were discussed during talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The meeting was attended by Dmitry Kobitsky, Secretary General of the Council of the IPA CIS, as well as representatives of a number of ministries and government agencies of Turkmenistan.
“At the 60th plenary session of the IPA CIS in May this year, Chairperson of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan Dunyagozel Gulmanova conveyed an invitation from National Leader of the country Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to hold a meeting of the Commonwealth’s parliamentarians in Turkmenistan. This will be a historic event — the IPA CIS session will be held in your country for the first time,” Dmitry Kobitsky said.
In addition, the Second International Conference “Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals” is scheduled to take place in Ashgabat on 7 October 2026. The event is planned to be jointly organized by the IPA CIS, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Mejlis of Turkmenistan.
The conference will bring together parliamentarians from CIS countries, representatives of health ministries of the Commonwealth states, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the CIS Executive Committee and international organizations.
Participants will discuss the development of primary health care, sustainable access to medicines and pharmaceutical security, as well as the role of parliaments in shaping tax policies that promote health.
///nCa, 11 September 2026