The Council of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Heads of Government was established on December 21, 1991 by the Alma-Ata Agreement on CIS Coordination Institutions.
The CIS' second largest forum after the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government is composed of Prime Ministers of all CIS member states. The Council of Heads of Government coordinates cooperation within the CIS in the economic, social and other spheres of mutual interest, and arrives at corresponding decisions basing on consensus.
The Regulations on the CIS Presidency, adopted by the Council of Heads of State on October 10, 2008, introduce the principle of rotating Presidency, whereby a country chairs at the same time the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Economic Council, the Council of Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of CIS States with CIS Founding and Other Bodies, as well as the Commission on Economic Issues under the CIS Economic Council. In 2009 Moldova holds the CIS Presidency, co-chaired by Kyrgyzstan and Russia, the countries holding presidency in previous and the following years, respectively.
Before this principle took effect, each CIS member state held rotating Presidency in alphabetical order for a maximum of one year, unless the Council decreed otherwise.
The Council of Heads of Government convenes for regular meetings twice a year, usually in spring and in autumn. Extraordinary meetings can be initiated by the Prime Minister of one of the states.
Council meetings approve important documents regarding the creation of a free trade zone, the development of industrial cooperation and the mutual agricultural market, cooperation in the banking sector, interaction in space exploration, disaster relief and other issues.
The previous Council meeting was held in Chişinău on November 14, 2008.
The next Council meeting is planned for May 22, 2009 in Astana.