Turkmenistan recognized by UN as permanent neutral state

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, right, poses with Korean President Park Geun-hye during the signing ceremony in Ashgabat in June 2014.

As was mentioned above, Turkmenistan was recognized as a permanently neutral state by the Resolution of the UN General Assembly. This unique status let the country hold own neutral policy and develop the peaceful international relations.

Turkmenistan by right has earned a high authority as a reliable and far-sighted partner and ardent follower of principles of equality, and justice in international affairs, an active guide of the idea of wide cooperation in the name of progress and development of countries and nations. A number of large achievements in the foreign policy of Turkmenistan can serve a bright example for it in the face of international organizations.

Among them it should be noted, particularly, election of our county to the membership of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2013-2015, the executive council of the UNESCO for 2013-2017, unanimously adoption of the project of the Resolution of Turkmenistan by the UN General Assembly in May, last year "Reliable and Stable Transit of Energy Resources and Its Role in Ensuring Sustainable Development and International Cooperation."

One of the main priorities of foreign policy of Turkmenistan is fruitful cooperation with United Nation Organization. Comprehensive support of the international community in its work to maintain and strengthen peace, security and strategic stability are the core pillar of Turkmenistan's priorities at the United Nations.

Turkmenistan considers the United Nations General Assembly as an important stage in consolidating coherent international efforts with a view to address key issues of the global agenda, uphold the United Nations leading role in maintaining and strengthening peace, stability and security in the world, and to fully realize the Millennium Development Goals, as well as steadily implement the Member States' international obligations to ensure sustainable development in the light of the agreements reached at the Rio +20 Summit. In this regard Turkmenistan is guided by strict adherence to the principles of neutrality, non-interference and resolute commitments for peaceful political means to resolve conflicts and disputes.

The direction of Turkmenistan's efforts is determined by the relevant focus areas, connected with its membership in the Economic and Social Council, Executive Board of UNESCO and other UN specialized agencies. Turkmenistan continues to promote international initiatives of the President of Turkmenistan on global and regional issues.

Turkmenistan pays special attention to focus of efforts to create a climate of trust and mutual understanding in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea region. Turkmenistan believes it is vital to establish a permanent mechanism for political consultations to generate common approaches for the issues of peace and security in these regions, preventing threats of conflict situations. That is why the proposal to host the Forum in Ashgabat in 2015 is very actual. Turkmenistan believes that one of the main objectives of the international community today is the intensification of joint efforts to promote non-proliferation and disarmament.

Turkmenistan will continue its proactive interaction with Member States and the Secretariat of the United Nations to promote multi-stakeholder dialogue on sustainable energy and energy security. These efforts are aimed at the creation and further functioning of the international expert group to develop new international legal mechanism ensuring effective international cooperation in the energy sphere.

Report's analysis and conclusions will contribute to the work of International meeting of experts on the reliable and stable transit of energy for sustainable development to be held in Ashgabat on 10-11 December 2014.

Transportation and transit of energy resources to international markets in the context of region's integration to the global economy are key development elements for Central Asia. Diversification of supply routes is an essential component of this process. In recent years, Turkmenistan together with its international partners undertook two major projects on building pipelines to China and Iran. Turkmenistan considers these functioning pipelines as a basic positive factor in the development of the region, its transformation into one of the energy hubs of world importance.

Turkmenistan believes that the project for the Turkmen natural gas supplies to the West has real perspectives, and the country will actively cooperate in this matter with all the stakeholders.

Another energy project that goes far beyond the regional framework - both economically and politically is the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline (TAPI).

Turkmenistan is convinced that completion of this project could be an important step in the context of the overall situation in Central and South Asia and bring totally new meaning to geopolitical and economic processes taking place in this part of the globe.

Turkmenistan is consistently increasing its transport capacities, initiating large-scale international and regional transport and communication projects, designed to bring economic and trade cooperation between the countries of Central Asia, and its neighboring regions to a qualitatively new level with strong impetus for long-term interregional relations, basis for new geo-economic architecture, which links together Central Asia, the Caspian region, Black and Baltic seas regions, the Middle East and the South and Southeast Asia, which will shape their large-scale cooperation. In this landscape Central Asia by its nature is a major connection hub which serves the goals of global integration and sustainable development.

Turkmenistan is convinced that the formation of North-South and East-West transport corridors is of great importance in the context of the Great Silk Road revival efforts that will strengthen the links between two world economic poles of Eurasia but under qualitatively new criteria.

International cooperation is significantly important for Turkmenistan in the sphere of protection and promotion of human rights. To mention one of the striking examples of effective work in the field of human rights it will suffice to state that Government has repeatedly granted Turkmen citizenship to stateless people. Particularly, Turkmen citizenship was granted to nearly five thousand persons in the period of 2011 - 2014 years, by Presidential decrees. In May 2012, Turkmenistan jointly with the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held a ministerial International Conference on the issue of "Refugees in the Muslim world". Following this conference the Ashgabat Declaration was adopted. In June 2014 in Ashgabat, Government of Turkmenistan jointly with the International Organization for Migration and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees organized the International Conference on Migration and Statelessness: "Identifying challenges and the way forward." Final documents of the forum have been presented to the Member States through official UN documentation system.

Turkmenistan also pays great attention to the issues of sustainable development. In this context, our country counts upon the implementation of concrete joint steps which would bring effective improvement of ecological situation in the Central Asian countries, raise the level and standards of the quality of people's life, and create a platform for implementing economic and social development projects.

Considering the wide range of environmental problems in the region of Central Asia and the Caspian Sea, particularly in the context of climate change, Turkmenistan believes it is necessary to strengthen multilateral cooperation and start to work jointly on formation of the systemic mechanisms for joint action in this field. In this regard Turkmenistan in cooperation with the United Nations has proposed to establish a specialized body - the Interregional Center for addressing the challenges posed by climate change, with a mandate to conduct systematically research activities and project development in the vital areas.

Turkmenistan proposes to enhance cooperation with specialized UN agencies in this essential segment of environmental security. On December, 2014 Turkmenistan will be holding the International Ministerial Meeting of International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

Also one of the main directions of the foreign policy and diplomacy of Turkmenistan is participation in the activity of the OSCE. It is directed to creation of efficient mechanisms for warning and neutralization of international conflicts, combat of political and religious extremism, terroristic threat, drug trafficking, and trans-border crime, development of modern models of international cooperation in the sphere of delivery of energy carriers. Turkmenistan attaches due attention to participation in the activity of other important international and regional organizations Movement of Non-Alignment, CIS, ICO, ECO, in compliance with its neutral status.

It has significantly broadened and enriched its dialogue with large powers and world political and economic centers China, USA, Russian Federation, and EU. Turkmenistan shares common interests with them in such key direction of cooperation as policy, economy, energy, investment, and education. With its regional neighbors, Turkmenistan's relations have also assumed a new content. Transport and pipeline projects with participation of Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India become reality; one can scarcely overestimate their significance today. Cooperation with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, and country of the Baltic's continues to be strengthened.

In its foreign policy strategy Turkmenistan takes into account all rising interests in it from the side of countries of the Near and Middle east. There are huge potentials in this regard for realization of transport and transit corridors from Central Asia in the southern direction with accesses to sea terminals in the Indian Ocean. The potential of cooperation with countries of Asian Pacific region is great. Relations with Latin America also grow gradually and it today becomes one of the most dynamically developing regions of the world.

Formulating the tasks set before the Turkmen diplomacy, the President of Turkmenistan particularly highlights the state-economic sphere, necessity to study and analyze attentively the economic situation in the countries of stay of the Turkmen embassies, outline the sphere, where bilateral ties should get development, gain experience in advancement of economic interests of our country.

Great attention today is paid to the development of international cultural cooperation. Turkmenistan is open for the world, wide contacts between the representatives of creative professions.

Initiative and creative position of Turkmenistan becomes today more visible factor of the international life. Proposals of the President of Turkmenistan in the sphere of security, disarmament, energy cooperation, ecology, steps on forestalling and neutralization of conflict situations in the Central Asia, initiation of the large international economic projects have positive influence on nature of interstate relations in the region and beyond its borders and create the foundation of partnership on the principles of multilateral benefit, balance of interests, compatibility of different viewpoints.