I sincerely greet all gathered here and offer
congratulations on the opening of the sixty-sixth
session of the General Assembly. I congratulate His
Excellency Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser on his election
as President of the General Assembly at this session
and express confidence that the Assembly under his
leadership will work successfully and fruitfully.
Allow me to convey my gratitude to Mr. Joseph
Deiss, President at the sixty-fifth session, for his
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effective activity in this post. In availing myself of this
opportunity I should also like once again to
congratulate Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment to
the post of Secretary-General and wish him great
success.
As in past years, this forum is the continuation of
the process of forming suitable approaches to the
complex phenomena of the modern world — in other
words, a search for appropriate answers to questions
having global significance. It becomes more and more
evident that there is a demand for systemic measures
based on a clear definition of goals, a vision of their
possible implementation and a choice of effective
international mechanisms.
Turkmenistan formulates these goals as follows:
peace through development. Today these concepts
cannot be considered separately. The direct connection
between peace and development is exactly what opens
wide possibilities for the consolidation of political will
and the intellectual and material resources of the
community of nations. That is important in order to
establish sustainable, stable and, at the same time,
flexible and balanced modern systems of international
ties in politics, economics and in the humanitarian
sphere.
We are convinced that this large-scale issue and
the responsibility for its implementation lie first and
foremost with the United Nations. Turkmenistan acts
accordingly in forming its approaches to the issues of
achieving a firm peace and security, implementing the
development goals and realizing humanitarian
cooperation.
Considering that a fundamental condition for
ensuring long-term peace and strategic stability is to
efficiently abide by the United Nations Charter,
Turkmenistan pursues a steady and purposeful policy
of peace and good-neighbourliness and actively
encourages peaceful processes. We absolutely reject
military force as an instrument of foreign policy and
intergovernmental relations. We believe that solutions
through armed force do not offer prospects for success,
do not eliminate sources of and reasons for clashes or
contradictions, and in most cases do not create
conditions for supplying appropriate answers to many
questions that arise in post-conflict periods.
Turkmenistan attaches paramount importance to
the settlement of any situation by peaceful means and
methods. In that connection and in compliance with the
fundamental documents of the United Nations, we
suggest that at this session the Assembly start to
develop a declaration on the critical introduction of
political and diplomatic tools for the resolution of
international issues, with further consideration at
subsequent sessions. To our way of thinking, adopting
such a declaration would allow for a considerable
decrease in the probability of the use of force to
resolve clashes in intergovernmental relations. It would
help to reduce the risks concerned and threats to
general stability and security.
At the regional level, we have proposed a number
of initiatives on maintaining peace and stability in
Central Asia and in the Caspian basin. These initiatives
were welcomed positively. In our opinion, the next step
must be taken, namely, to arrange a representative
forum on security in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea
region. Turkmenistan suggests hosting this event next
year. We believe that the establishment of an advisory
council on peaceful development in Central Asia and
the Caspian Sea region may emerge as one of the
political outcomes of that forum.
In talking of the necessity to ensure security on a
global scale, we do not mean only its political
component. Global security is considered as a
comprehensive whole, based on indivisibility and a
whole range of key factors that define the vectors of
today’s worldwide development. That involves the
solution of economic, energy, ecological, food and
humanitarian issues.
Today it is obvious that global security cannot be
provided unless peace and consent at national and
regional levels are reached. Therefore Turkmenistan
aims its efforts at the maximum promotion of the
processes of sustainable development, attaining the
Millennium Development Goals and creating efficient
models of multilateral reciprocal action for the solution
of urgent international issues.
A reliable and stable transit of energy resources
on the international market is one of the issues at hand.
Our proposals on the matter received support from the
world community and were reflected in General
Assembly resolution 63/210, adopted in 2008. I believe
that the time has come to start developing concrete
measures on the resolution of energy transport issues.
With a view to joining the efforts of the Member
States that are taking an active part in the development
of an international legal foundation in the sphere of
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energy supply, Turkmenistan considers it appropriate to
create a new mechanism, transparent and open to all:
an interregional energy dialogue under the aegis of the
United Nations, supposing that the Organization would
actively promote establishment of an essential format
of cooperation. We see the States of Central and South
Asia, the Caspian, the Black Sea and Baltic regions,
Russia, China, the European Union and the countries of
the Middle and Near East — all States, companies and
international financial institutions concerned — being
among its participants. The acknowledgment by United
Nations Member States of the general nature of the
long-term goals of development and a readiness to
achieve their implementation jointly act today as
determining factors for the sustainability of the global
economic system.
The serious effects of the worldwide financial
and economic crisis have clearly demonstrated once
again the need to unite efforts to form viable models
and realistic plans, taking account of the interests and
needs of all States of the world. Turkmenistan will take
an active part in this process and will contribute to the
exchange of successful experiences gained by our
country on a number of fronts involving economic and
social development.
We are ready to do this through the relevant
United Nations structures, first of all the Economic and
Social Council. Our country submits its candidature for
membership in that authoritative body for the term of
2013-2015. We are preparing for the work in this body,
and, if elected, Turkmenistan will spare no efforts to
successfully implement the tasks entrusted.
Turkmenistan will also take part in the Rio+20
Earth Summit in 2012. We see it as a landmark event in
the process of making progress towards sustainable
development objectives. We intend to announce a
number of specific proposals at that forum.
With regard to maintaining sustainable economic
growth, I should like to dwell on a crucial component,
namely, the creation of a modern transport
infrastructure.
Over the years our country, together with partners
in the region, has been actively working on the
implementation of major projects to optimize traffic
flow in the Eurasian sphere. We believe this is a very
promising area, given the huge potential of the north-
south and east-west corridors. It is important that those
corridors, which could give a powerful impetus to
economic development and trade relations on a
continental scale, be used effectively. We believe that
the United Nations could play an important role in
coordinating the establishment of international
cooperation in the field of transport.
In that regard, Turkmenistan suggests that there
be an initiative, during the current session, to start
developing a United Nations special programme on the
development of transport, including the study of transit
and transport opportunities between the Caspian and
Black Seas and between Central Asia and the Middle
East.
Turkmenistan sees the environmental sphere as a
key area for international cooperation. We respect the
initiatives and decisions taken at the summits on
climate change in Copenhagen and Cancun. We are
looking forward to continuing a constructive
international dialogue on this issue in November this
year at the meeting in Durban. We are convinced of the
need to join efforts in this field at the global, regional
and national levels and to coordinate the actions of
each United Nations Member State. In that connection
I should like to emphasize that Turkmenistan is
currently preparing an extensive document, the
National Strategy on Climate Change. After the
adoption of the Strategy we will be ready to submit it
to the relevant United Nations agencies as a
contribution to our common work. We believe that it
will be possible, during the current session and in the
context of closer multilateral cooperation, to start
establishing systemic machinery in this area. To that
end, Turkmenistan proposes establishing a specialized
institution — a United Nations interregional centre on
development and issues related to climate change. We
are willing to provide for its functioning with all the
necessary infrastructure in the capital of Turkmenistan,
Ashgabat.
A most important question that goes far beyond
regional boundaries is the environment of the Caspian
Sea. Here we are also convinced of the need to give
specific content to international efforts to preserve the
unique natural resources of the Caspian Sea. In that
regard we propose organizing a Caspian environmental
forum as a permanent body to deal with environmental
issues in the Caspian basin, as well as to make
appropriate proposals and recommendations.
Achieving sustainable development is directly
related to the resolution of humanitarian issues, support
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for natural human rights, and opportunities for
individuals to achieve personal fulfilment and for
people to lead valuable lives. In that regard our country
will continue its cooperation with United Nations
humanitarian bodies for further implementation of
United Nations conventions in the field of human
rights. As a permanent member of the Executive
Committee of the Office of the High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), Turkmenistan will actively
promote the implementation of practical measures
aimed at protecting and supporting refugees. We have
found it useful, in working with UNHCR, to study our
experience in granting citizenship to refugees and
stateless persons and to organize, in that connection, an
international meeting involving all stake-holders in
Ashgabat in 2012.
The challenges facing the Organization are
complex and ambitious, but they are realistic and
achievable because we have a common goal, namely, to
make the world a better, fairer and more humane place.
We are united by common values and shared
responsibility. We are united in our endeavour to move
forward. We rely on the vast experience gained by the
United Nations over the decades, as well as on the will,
intellect and wisdom of the community of nations. All
of this will determine the extent of our overall success.
Today each country makes its own unique contribution
to the development and progress of mankind. This
opens up enormous opportunities for creating and
implementing new ideas, for developing innovative
models of cooperation to address key issues in modern
times. Turkmenistan is ready to take an active part in
this activity, firmly following a strategic course aimed
at close and comprehensive cooperation with the
United Nations.