Turkmenistan

Dear Heads and Members of Delegations, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, please allow me to congratulate you on the beginning of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly and wish you fruitful work.

I also congratulate Ambassador Dennis Francis on his election as President of the 78th General Assembly and convey my words of support and cooperation for his upcoming mission during this important period.

Today, the feeling of the highest responsibility shall unite all 193 Member States of our organization. Each of them, regardless of geographical location, population, size of the economy, or socio-political model, is capable of making a significant contribution to solving the problems that the Community of Nations faces.

The world today encounters a number of very serious challenges for various reasons. Despite differences in their manifestations, they all influence the course of interstate relations to a greater or lesser extent, often negatively affecting the implementation of previously agreed-upon plans and programs in key areas of the global agenda.

This, in turn, may lead to the erosion of the fundamental basis of universal security as the foundation of UN activities. Of course, we cannot let it happen.

Therefore, for many years, Turkmenistan has firmly and consistently stood for the principle of the integrity of security, which binds together different aspects.

We are convinced that military and political security cannot be considered in isolation from economic, ecological, technological, energy, transport, food, biological, and information security.

None of these issues can be considered minor or irrelevant, and their solutions cannot be postponed to a later date.

I believe that the main task of the UN is to provide an integral approach to security problems, mobilize the experience, skills, ideas, and initiatives of member states in a constructive manner, and refrain from seeking momentary benefits and advantages to achieve truly vital goals.

Reaching these goals will ensure lasting peace, security, and long-term development.

We can achieve this only by uniting together with the decisive role of the United Nations.

Although keeping in mind the ongoing discussions about the role of the UN in the modern world and proposals for its reform, one thing remains unchanged: there is no alternative to the UN.

Today, the UN is the only universal and legitimate organization, responsible for maintaining peace and ensuring comprehensive and worldwide security and stability in the modern architecture of international relations. This is the fundamental position of Turkmenistan.

Thus, it is necessary to consistently and steadily use the potential of this World Organization, its political and diplomatic tools, and moral authority to provide a balanced, objective assessment of current events and trends. This will help overcome distrust and confrontational tension in global politics and attempt to identify prospects for compromise and mutual consideration of interests. This can be achieved through open and honest dialogue under the umbrella of the United Nations. We understand that achieving such interaction will not be easy. However, it is necessary.

This can be done in open and honest dialogue under the umbrella of the United Nations. We understand that it will not be easy to achieve such interaction. However, it's necessary.

In this regard, Turkmenistan proposes to start discussing the possibilities of preparing a Global Security Strategy, which would consider current realities and trends in global development and be based on the principles of the UN Charter and universally recognized norms of international law.

In our opinion, such a strategy should reflect the presence of recently emerged new risk factors along with traditional ones.

We also believe it is necessary to include in this document several directions of UN activities, such as:

• Preventive diplomacy as a tool for preventing and eliminating conflicts;

• Leverage the potential of neutrality for peaceful, political, and diplomatic settlement of disputes and conflicts;

• Restoring a culture of trustful dialogue based on the decisions of the UN General Assembly to declare 2021 the International Year of Peace and Trust and 2023 as the "Year of Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace." Time has confirmed the relevance of these resolutions for the present moment.

In order to achieve comprehensive and worldwide security, Turkmenistan considers it important that UN activities should have a distinct regional context.

We believe this approach will give proper meaning to joint work and increase its functionality and efficiency.

I am convinced that the time has come to start an inclusive, full-scale, and systemic dialogue between Central Asia and the UN. Turkmenistan respectfully invites partners to join this process.

In this regard, our country has taken the initiative to create a Conference on Security in Central Asia and its neighboring zones under the umbrella of the UN.

We express our readiness to host the first Conference in Ashgabat in 2024.

Dear participants,

Turkmenistan considers that the solution of urgent climate and environmental problems will be among the key areas of UN activity for the coming years, especially the issues related to global methane commitments.

I must say that after joining the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, a number of relevant national programs were adopted in our country to reduce and eliminate the negative impact of methane emissions. First and foremost, we are talking about a step-by-step transition to modern, climate-friendly, and resource-saving technologies, especially in the fields of energy, industry, and transport.

At the same time, we welcome the efforts of the world community to implement the Global Methane Commitment. And, of course, in this matter, we are counting on close collaboration and targeted assistance from specialized UN agencies, member countries, and other interested partners. In this context, Turkmenistan recently approved a roadmap for the development of international cooperation aimed at studying the issue of Turkmenistan's accession to the Global Methane Commitment. In the near future, we will send this document to the Secretariat of the Organization.

In general, I believe that it is time for the UN to pay more attention to ecological problems in Central Asia. There is a need for proactive consideration of implementing concrete measures to create an all-inclusive environmental strategy for our region, which has a population of almost 80 million people, unique natural resources, biodiversity, and is located in the zone of serious ecological risks.

As an important step in adopting a strategic approach to environmental problems in Central Asia, Turkmenistan proposes to establish a specialized agency, the Regional Center for Climate Change Technologies in Central Asia, which will work on climate issues in a substantive and systematic way.

We are ready to provide the organizational and technical conditions for the functioning of such a Center in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.

Central Asia also has direct access to the Caspian Sea. The importance of this water basin with its unique nature in the context of the global environmental agenda is widely known.

As a result of many years of energetic and respectful cooperation, coastal countries have developed common key principles of policy in the Caspian Sea, including the adoption of the main document, the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. Last summer, during the Sixth Caspian Summit in Turkmenistan, all participants confirmed their readiness for close cooperation on ecological issues. I believe that this creates good opportunities for the start of a broad-based and systemic interaction of coastal countries with the UN.

In this respect, Turkmenistan proposes to establish the Caspian Ecology Initiative, which could become an international platform for productive and professional interaction on a wide range of issues related to the protection of the Caspian Sea and its biological resources.

We believe that the implementation of this initiative should be carried out in close cooperation with the UN, its agencies, and institutions.

Dear participants,

As a responsible member state of the UN, Turkmenistan clearly formulates and implements its approaches and actions in order to contribute to the speedy achievement of global goals.

Among these priorities, we underline the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals in the field of transport.

As is known, Turkmenistan has initiated the establishment of effective international platforms for dialogue in this important area. Let me mention the First UN Global Conference on Sustainable Transport, which was successfully held in Ashgabat in 2016, as well as the Ministerial Meeting on Transport for Landlocked Developing Countries, organized in cooperation with the UN in Turkmenistan last summer.

We are proud that the active work of Turkmenistan in recent years has led to the adoption of six General Assembly resolutions initiated by our country in the field of transport. The latest resolution, named "World Sustainable Transport Day," was adopted in May this year. We express our gratitude to all Member States for their unanimous support of this document.

Based on the provisions of this resolution, the United Nations General Assembly will convene a High-level meeting on the occasion of World Sustainable Transport Day during 78th session. We look forward to the cooperation and support of relevant UN structures in organizing this event in New York.

The most important activity of Turkmenistan in order to implement Sustainable Development Goals is to provide maximum assistance to the UN in addressing the food problem. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with other negative factors, has exposed the sensitivity of those countries where the food challenges have not been resolved, and the population does not receive proper nutrition.

Unity, devotion to principles, and determination are needed when considering issues related to access to food resources for countries and regions. Access to proper nutrition is the absolute right of any person and a key factor in human health and normal physical development, especially for children.

It is clear that modern solutions and new approaches are essential to overcome political, ideological, and market problems.

Based on this, Turkmenistan proposes to organize a large-scale International Forum on food security in cooperation with the UN, the World Food Program, the World Health Organization, and the UN Children's Fund.

We express our readiness to provide conditions for holding such an event in the capital of Turkmenistan within the agreed time frame.

Dear participants,

Heads and members of delegations,

Next year, Turkmenistan, along with other countries and the United Nations, will celebrate the 300th birthday anniversary of Magtymguly Pyragy, the outstanding son of the Turkmen people, who was a poet, thinker, philosopher, and public figure.

All of mankind respects and honors this great humanist, who made a unique contribution not only to the world of literature but also to the development of the civilization of the East and the whole world.

And I would like to conclude my speech with words from the poem of Magtymguly called "Appeal to Humanity." The poet addresses people, his generations, and descendants in the following life-affirming lines:

"Whether asleep or awake, A man will be truly devoted to realizing his intentions."

So, let devotion to commitments, ideals of peace, justice, and progress serve as the main and clear guideline in our joint work.

Thank you for your attention.