Turkmenistan

I wish at the outset to express my sincere gratitude for being given the honour of speaking from this lofty rostrum. Allow me first of all to convey to the members of the Assembly and to the peoples of their countries the greetings and wishes for peace and prosperity of His Excellency the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Allow me to congratulate His Excellency Vuk Jeremić on his election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and to wish him every success in his upcoming critical work. I would also like to express appreciation to His Excellency Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, for the skilful and effective manner in which he carried out his duties. Today the international community is witness to complex, multifaceted processes in geopolitics, the global economy and the humanitarian sphere. Serious environmental problems challenge us with their unprecedented urgency. It is no exaggeration to say that major global issues related to energy supplies acquiring universal importance. All of these require a constructive and effective response on the part of the United Nations and the elaboration of appropriate international mechanisms aimed at maximizing the effective use of existing political, financial, organizational and other resources, so as to overcome existing problems and challenges, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and reaffirm the irreversibility of the process of sustainable development of all the peoples of our planet. Objectively speaking, energy security is fundamental to the stable and conflict-free development of today’s world. As a leading energy provider with the fourth-largest reserves of hydrocarbon resources, Turkmenistan legitimately and consistently calls for the establishment of a sound and reliable international energy supply system and the drawing up of plans and projects for cooperation in world energy markets appropriate to modern realities. We believe that it is now time for the United Nations to adopt consensus decisions on universal political and legal mechanisms to govern global energy cooperation. As members know, at previous General Assembly sessions, the President of Turkmenistan launched a number of initiatives on energy security and mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector. The realities of modern life affirm the relevance of such initiatives. As a step towards those initiatives, Turkmenistan proposes that States Members of the United Nations consider in depth the establishment of an international legal framework to govern the operation of an energy supply system, taking into due account the interests of hydrocarbon producers and transit and recipient nations. As a first step in that direction, we believe that it would be appropriate to draw up a draft resolution during this session on the establishment of an expert group to develop the relevant United Nations international instrument. At the same time, we look forward to constructive engagement with all States Members of the United Nations, which, we believe, would significantly help to find common approaches to solving one of the most urgent problems of modern development. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in June this year, clearly identified the need to strengthen our efforts on ecological issues and environmental protection. Speaking at the meeting, the President of Turkmenistan noted that, at the institutional level, today’s main objective is to merge and complement existing global, regional and national instruments. It is no secret that the Central Asian and Caspian Sea regions have difficult environmental conditions. We think that the efforts made to date to improve the situation are clearly insufficient. We need a joint and results-oriented action plan that combines the use of scientific, technological, political, diplomatic, administrative and technical measures for effective outcomes in that direction. We therefore propose setting up, in cooperation with the United Nations, a regional centre for climate change technologies in Central Asia and the Caspian basin. We believe that such a structure would enable the countries in those regions to significantly strengthen cooperation on ecological safety. It would promote the effective coordination of national, regional and international efforts and would further mutual understanding and confidence-building towards achieving sustainable development goals. With regard to international politics, Turkmenistan gives particular attention to the issues of peace and security and to ensuring sustainable development. In that context, one of the main challenges facing the international community today is the need for our joint efforts to ensure non-proliferation and disarmament. As a party to the principal international treaties and United Nations conventions in that field, Turkmenistan expects to continue to fully support global disarmament processes. We believe that it is relevant to pursue the multilateral dialogue on the validity of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We propose that a high-level consultative meeting be held next year, under the auspices of the United Nations, to discuss steps to expand the international non-proliferation legal framework. Turkmenistan’s initiative is particularly relevant to the practical implementation of steps towards a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia. As we know, the agenda of the sixty-seventh session includes an item on a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia. Our country is ready to actively cooperate with the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs and to participate in a number of initiatives in that regard. Given that further improving relevant United Nations agencies may be one practical step in implementing consistent disarmament measures, we think it appropriate to consider the establishment of a United Nations subregional centre for disarmament in Asia. Strengthening comprehensive, targeted and long- term cooperation with the United Nations is a strategic choice of Turkmenistan and a priority of its foreign policy. As an important part of that cooperation, our country is considering participating in United Nations activities to ensure human development, better living standards and people’s well-being; to establish conditions conducive to global economic and social growth; to utilize human creativity; and to promote people’s rights and freedoms. In pursuing those lofty goals and striving to contribute, where possible, to their achievement, Turkmenistan has announced its candidacy for membership of the Economic and Social Council for the period 2013-2015. That decision was made on the basis of the country’s current progress in the political, socioeconomic, cultural and other fields, its active role in international processes and its understanding of the responsibilities inherent to membership of the Council. If elected, Turkmenistan plans to use all available means to improve international cooperation for the effective implementation of sustainable development goals. At the same time, Turkmenistan will actively contribute to strengthening the Economic and Social Council by expanding its role in addressing the urgent issue of global socioeconomic development. The most important element of the modern system of international relations is humanitarian cooperation. To underscore that the humanitarian component is at the centre of the highest principles and values of the community of nations, our country will continue to promote its cooperation with the United Nations on protecting human rights and on establishing conditions conducive to human development. On that basis, given that the United Nations plays a major role in the comprehensive development of humanity and bearing in mind the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, we believe it appropriate during this sixty- seventh session to consider including the humanitarian issues on the United Nations international agenda as a separate issue. In that context, Turkmenistan proposes establishing a United Nations platform of action for humanitarian affairs with a view to it becoming the political and legal basis for the consolidation of the international community’s humanitarian efforts. We believe that such a holistic approach will enable us to galvanize the activities of United Nations agencies, to develop long-term solutions in line with international law and General Assembly resolutions, and to ensure the practical implementation of United Nations conventions on humanitarian matters. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that our foreign policy, which is based on our love of peace, on neutrality and on broad international cooperation, together with the constructive positions advocated by our country, form a solid basis for Turkmenistan’s work in the United Nations. In that spirit, we will rely on broad cooperation with all countries of the world in order to strengthen and develop a comprehensive international partnership.