On behalf of the people and the Government
of Turkmenistan, I wish to express my good wishes to
all members and to congratulate them on the beginning
of the sixty-second session of the General Assembly.
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate
Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his election to the post of
Secretary-General and to wish him every success in
discharging his challenging responsibilities.
I should also like to congratulate Mr. Srgjan
Kerim on his election to the presidency of the
Assembly. I am certain that under his guidance, the
work of the Assembly will be effective and fruitful.
Since the very first days of its independence,
Turkmenistan has considered the ideals of the United
Nations to be fully in accordance with our aspirations
in terms of relations with the international community.
The basic principles of the Organization the
maintenance of peace, equality of rights, respect for the
sovereignty of all States and their right to choose their
own path of development formed the basis for our
country’s foreign policy, in which cooperation with the
United Nations has become a priority area.
Time has proved that the choice made by our
country was right and well founded. In 15 years of
intense cooperation with the United Nations,
Turkmenistan has found its own place in the
international arena and has gained invaluable
experience in interacting with the world community
and developing harmonious, equal and mutually
respectful relations with other nations. We have every
right to be proud of the fact that it was within these
walls that resolution 50/80 [A], on the permanent
neutrality of Turkmenistan, was adopted on
12 December 1995 a historic event for our country.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the resolution on
neutrality has become the foundation of our foreign
policy and has played a major role in shaping our
national policy.
Cooperation with the United Nations will
continue to drive our foreign policy. Here, I should like
to emphasize that such cooperation enriches our
bilateral and multilateral ties and makes them more
meaningful. That is most apparent in regional matters,
where the participation of the United Nations and its
specialized agencies promotes convergence of States’
approaches to issues, thus creating a favourable
political, diplomatic and legal environment for their
resolution through concerted effort.
In that context, I consider the recent decision to
establish a United Nations Regional Centre for
Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia to be a major
milestone. I am confident that the inauguration of the
Centre, set for the end of the year, will mark an entirely
new phase in the efforts of our country and our
neighbours to ensure peace, security and stability in the
region.
Turkmenistan is fully prepared to engage in
constructive and fruitful cooperation with the Centre.
We are certain that its work will be a strong and
positive force in resolving the problems faced by our
region. We highly appreciate the decision to establish
the Centre in Ashgabat, capital of neutral
Turkmenistan. We see that as an expression of the
Organization’s confidence in our country. Mindful of
our great responsibility, I assure the Assembly that our
country will do everything necessary to make the
Centre’s work effective and fruitful.
Notwithstanding current changes in the world, the
great humanist ideals of the United Nations and the
principles of its Charter should continue to serve as the
moral and legal pillar of the international order. Only
on this basis can the issues of United Nations reform
be considered. United Nations reform as a whole
should be meaningful and goal-oriented and
correspond to the objective realities of the age. In this
respect, Turkmenistan supports the efforts of the
United Nations Member States and the Secretary-
General to make the work of the Organization more
dynamic, efficient, transparent and democratic.
In that context, Turkmenistan shares the view that
it is necessary to improve further the structure of the
Security Council and to develop closer and more
effective interaction between the Security Council and
the General Assembly. We are in favour of reforming
the United Nations, making it stronger, enhancing its
work and expanding the role and functions of the
Security Council as a guarantor of international peace,
security and stability.
Turkmenistan’s neutral status, its foreign policy
doctrine of non-affiliation with any blocs and its
rejection of the use of force as a means of resolving
international disputes predetermine our stance with
regard to the issues of peace and security. In this
context, Turkmenistan fully supports international
efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, their delivery systems and related
technologies. Accordingly, Turkmenistan has been
taking and will continue to take consistent practical
steps to ensure implementation of the international
legal framework on the non-proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction. In its legislation, Turkmenistan
proclaims its refusal to possess, manufacture, store or
transport nuclear, chemical, bacteriological and other
types of weapons of mass destruction or related
technologies. In 2005, the People’s Council of
Turkmenistan decided to adopt a Statement on
Supporting the Initiatives of International
Organizations to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons
of Mass Destruction. Last year, in Semipalatinsk,
Turkmenistan, together with other States of the region,
signed the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in
Central Asia. That document is unique in many ways,
since, for the first time since the Second World War, it
proclaims the establishment of a vast region free of
nuclear weapons on the map of the northern
hemisphere. It is noteworthy that our joint initiative
echoes the aspirations of the majority of countries and
that it has been highly acclaimed by the international
community and endorsed by the United Nations
General Assembly. Let me take this opportunity to
express our appreciation to all States, international and
regional organizations that have supported the
document.
However, we need to realize that Central Asia is
not isolated. Our region has thousands of historical,
ethnic and humanitarian ties with neighbouring States.
In this context, Turkmenistan’s concern with the events
in Afghanistan is justified. We rejoice at the success of
the Afghan people in building a peaceful life; we feel
the difficulties they face as our own. Turkmenistan is
assisting Afghanistan in rebuilding its economy, by
providing professional training, in the construction of
social facilities and by providing oil and power to some
provinces of the country. Together with the
international community, and with the United Nations,
we are striving to help achieve stability for Afghanistan
and to help the brotherly people of that country to
achieve peace and well-being.
Geographically, Turkmenistan is conveniently
located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Over its
years of independence, our country has built a modern
transportation and communication infrastructure. As an
important element of international trade and economic
relations, it may also become a factor leading to
significant revitalization and further development of
cultural interaction between the regions, thus
promoting rapprochement and mutual understanding
between nations. It is in that spirit that Turkmenistan
defines its international energy strategy, aimed at
developing a multiple pipeline system to bring
Turkmen energy resources to international markets on
a stable and long-term basis. This strategy is not
dependent on either political circumstances or any kind
of ideological bias. Our stand on this matter is a stand
of principle and full transparency. We support the
implementation of economically justified pipeline
projects that would guarantee security, including
environmental safety. That will determine their multi-
track character. In this context, Turkmenistan is in
favour of the mutually advantageous use of energy
resources by both exporters and consumers.
From this point of view, we are convinced that
the implementation of projects aimed at bringing
Turkmen energy to international markets will provide
another impulse to stimulate inter-State and
interregional trade and economic relations. That will
also serve to promote further economic growth in the
countries where pipelines run and assist in the
resolution of issues relating to the provision of light
and heat, the development of production and social
infrastructure and job creation, which will, ultimately,
have a positive effect on the overall political climate
within and beyond the region.
Turkmenistan is taking very seriously the issue of
environmental protection and a whole range of other
issues that will have to be addressed by engaging the
capacity of the international community at large. In this
context, we support the efforts of the Secretary-General
to promote and develop broad international
cooperation, with a view to finding a comprehensive
solution to this global problem. To that end,
Turkmenistan is taking specific steps at the national
level. Up to 200 million dollars are annually earmarked
in the national budget for environmental protection.
Our country has passed legislation setting standards to
prevent environmental pollution, and it is introducing
technologies to ensure environmental safety of our key
sector, the oil and gas industry. Already for over 10
years, Turkmenistan has been implementing a large-
scale nation-wide programme entitled “The Green
Belt”, which has resulted in millions of trees being
planted on thousands of hectares all over the country.
We are fully committed to the goals of the Kyoto
Protocol, and we are ready to cooperate with all
international partners in implementing its provisions.
As a full-fledged member of the international
community, Turkmenistan is developing a genuinely
democratic and legal foundation for its national
statehood. The greatest value of our society is the
individual, and his or her rights and freedoms. Today,
this is at the centre of our State policy.
Processes aimed at the further democratization of
public and political life, the establishment of civil
society, the introduction of modern electoral
mechanisms and the formation of local government
bodies are gaining momentum. A constructive
innovative search for a reasonable balance between the
authority of the State and society at large is under way.
We are not trying to speed up the process, and we are
not pushing it into some artificial time frame. The most
important thing is that it has become irreversible and is
receiving recognition and support both within and
outside the country. And, in this respect, we highly
appreciate the assistance provided to us by
international organizations in general and by the
United Nations in particular.
Today, Turkmenistan is open to the world; it is
open to broad-scale partnership in all areas of activity.
Together with the rest of the community of nations, our
country is ready to work further to promote the
principles of international law and the ideals of
humanism, justice, tolerance and mutual respect as
determinant factors in modern relations among States.
The status of permanent neutrality not only
imposes on our country important foreign policy
obligations but also obliges us to shape our foreign and
social policies accordingly. In that context, I would like
to emphasize that Turkmenistan’s neutrality is
irreversible and that our commitment to the resultant
international obligations is firm. We intend to follow
this path with resolve, and we will always be open to
international cooperation promoting implementation of
the strategic priorities of the community of nations.