Turkmenistan : The National Leader of Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk
Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Secretary-General of
the United Nations António Guterres had a telephone conversation. Warmly greeting each other, the sides exchanged congratulations and best wishes on the occasion
of the New Year. During the conversation, the National Leader of Turkmen people
shared fond memories of the meeting with Secretary-General of the UN held in Ashgabat last summer and conveyed greetings and words of respect on behalf of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
Expressing gratitude for the kind words and best
wishes to the head of Turkmenistan, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the special attention of the Organization to the interaction with Turkmenistan,
which stands for strengthening peace in the regional and global dimensions.
The UN
Secretary-General highly appraised the policy pursued by Turkmenistan and its ini-
tiatives for universal peace, well-being and sustainable development. During the con-
versation, Hero-Arkadag outlined the main directions of the Concept of Activities
and Priorities of Turkmenistan within the framework of the International Year of
Peace and Trust, for the development of which consultations were held with the UN
specialized agencies. The document reflects the positions of our country on the main
issues of the modern global agenda, as well as on consolidation of efforts of the
states on the basis of mutual trust, joint dialog and responsibility. During the telephone conversation, Hero-Arkadag informed the UN Secretary-General about the
plans of Turkmenistan for joint implementation with the Organization in 2025, which
can and should become a year of change, Hero-Arkadag said, expressing hope for
UN support for Turkmenistan’s tasks set out in the Concept. It was emphasized that
the Concept is largely based on the content of the “Summit of the Future” convened
at the initiative of the UN last September, and therefore Turkmenistan considers the
Concept as a special contribution to the implementation of the final document of the
Summit – the “Pact for the Future”. Noting the importance of the Concept aimed at
consolidating efforts to address pressing issues on the global agenda, UN Secretary-
General António Guterres fully supported it. Speaking about the main vectors of the
upcoming work, the National Leader of Turkmen people emphasized the security
issue.
In this regard, the initiative of Turkmenistan to develop a Global Security Strategy under the auspices of the UN was noted.Among the main aspects of the Strategy
is the active use of preventive diplomacy as a tool to prevent and neutralize conflict
situations. Hero-Arkadag emphasized the importance of using the potential of neutrality to support the UN efforts to promote peace, as well as to restore the culture
of trusted dialogue in the context of ensuring global security. Expressing confidence
that the implementation of these proposals will reduce political tension in the world,
the National Leader of Turkmen people reiterated the unwavering strive of Turkmenistan to intensify the dialog on regional security during the International Year of
Peace and Trust. “We are essentially talking about the situation in Central Asia. Here
we intend to rely on the UN General Assembly Resolutions adopted upon the initiative of Turkmenistan – Zone of Peace, Trust and Cooperation of Central Asia, as well
as the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia,” Hero-Arkadag said
The e security level and situation in Central Asia are largely determined by construc-
tive resolution of a wide range of issues on the current regional agenda. One of such
issues is water. The position of Turkmenistan on this issue was clearly voiced at the
One Water Summit held in Riyadh on December 3 last year. It was noted that con-
sideration of issues related to water should be based on the following fundamental
norms, namely, adherence to international law, consideration of interests of the
regional states and involvement of international structures, primarily the UN. Non-
compliance with them poses a threat and vast environmental, socioeconomic and
humanitarian risk to the countries of the region. Speaking about the situation in
Afghanistan, Hero-Arkadag noted that Turkmenistan, as a neutral state, supports
efforts to achieve peace and civil consensus, restore economic infrastructure and
resolve social issues in that country.It was emphasized that the policy of Turk-
menistan in this aspect is well reasoned, it correlates with the actions of the new
Afghan authorities and objective realities. Dialogue with the administration of the
neighboring country is maintained taking into account the standpoint of the United
Nations and internationally recognized approaches. At the same time, major eco-
nomic projects are being implemented with the participation of two countries. These
include the laying of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the
construction of a power transmission line across Afghanistan to Pakistan.