Tajikistan, 2007

First of all, I would like to join in the sincere

congratulations on your election as the President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-second session and wish

you every success in this lofty office. I would also like

to avail myself to this opportunity to express gratitude

to your predecessor, Her Excellency Mrs. Haya Rashed

Al-Khalifa, for her selfless and efficient work during

the sixty-first session. We also join in the words of

welcome addressed to the Secretary-General of the

United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon.

Tajikistan welcomes the continued reforms of the

United Nations structure and enhancement of its

activities aimed at strengthening peace and

international security, furthering the promotion of

human rights, expanding its humanitarian mission,

placing the problem of climate change as an issue of

top priority and addressing today’s other challenges.

We believe that further progress in dealing with these

issues of global importance is dependent on joint,

concerted and consistent actions of the entire

international community.

Tajikistan attaches primary importance to the

further strengthening of the disarmament process, the

non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the speedy entry

into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty and activation of negotiations on the

establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones. In

cooperation with other Central Asian States, Tajikistan

took a very active part in the drafting of the Treaty on a

Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone in Central Asia, which was

signed on 8 September 2006 in Semipalatinsk, and in

the adoption of the relevant General Assembly

resolution (A/Res/61/88) last year.

It is common knowledge that international

terrorism, transnational organized crime and illicit drug

trafficking have become a serious obstacle on the road

towards sustainable development, inflicting much

suffering and causing trouble to humanity. The

international community should intensify its efforts

aimed at counteracting the commission of acts of terror

and the proliferation of ideologies based on terrorism,

extremism and separatism, interreligious and

inter-ethnic intolerance and hostility, and should

enhance its struggle against the financing of terrorism.

The global system of combating terrorism, which

is currently taking shape, cannot be established without

the involvement of regional and subregional

organizations. In our region, the Commonwealth of

Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty

Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation

Organization are serving this purpose.

We believe that long-term success in combating

terrorism and religious extremism depends on

eliminating the root causes of these negative

phenomena associated with social and economic

problems within society. It is essential to jointly search

for ways of addressing poverty issues, overcoming

negative consequences of globalization, and resolving

internal and regional conflicts. Actions based on force

alone will not be able to uproot terrorism.

Regrettably, today, we witness the merging of

terrorism with transnational organized crime and the

drug trade, which gives rise to our shared and

justifiable concern. Prevention of illicit drug

trafficking, which, to a certain extent, is the breeding

ground for terrorism and international crime, should

become part and parcel of our common struggle against

terrorism. In this regard, I would like to reiterate

Tajikistan’s willingness to continue constructive

dialogue and cooperation with the aim of establishing

an effective global partnership for counteracting the

narcotics threat.

An international conference dedicated to the tenth

anniversary of the signing of the General Agreement on

the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in

Tajikistan was held in Dushanbe in June 2007, in

cooperation with the United Nations. Almost

simultaneously, the United Nations Tajikistan Office of

Peacebuilding successfully concluded its activities.

Moreover, for the first time, the citizens of my country

joined international United Nations peacekeeping

operations. These events provide convincing proof that

the United Nations has the capacity to assist in

reaching a peace and in ensuring further sustainable

development in a country that has lived through serious

internal conflict.

For Tajikistan, like for most United Nations

Member States, the achievement of sustainable

development is a high priority goal. Within the United

Nations framework, much has been accomplished the

world over in order to promote sustainable

development and to alleviate poverty, epidemics,

famine and illiteracy. Meanwhile, the implementation

of a large-scale programme on the attainment of the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will require

not only extra effort but also additional resources.

Tajikistan’s intention is to realize the greatest possible

progress in the implementation of the MDGs. The main

purpose of the National Strategy for Development of

the Republic of Tajikistan up to the year 2015 and the

Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Tajikistan for the

years 2007-2009 is to ensure stable economic

development and to provide a better standard of living

for the country’s population.

It is also obvious that the attainment of the

MDGs, to a large extent, also depends on the attitude

of the international community when it comes to

rendering assistance to developing countries and on the

timely mobilization of internal and external resources.

With this in mind, Tajikistan joins the appeal addressed

to the donor community to at least double the amount

of assistance targeted for development. The proposal to

pardon the debts incurred by developing countries in

exchange for the implementation of national projects

aimed at sustainable development remains equally

important. In this connection, we attach much

significance to the unification of efforts aimed at

supporting sustainable financing for development, first

and foremost, in the interests of attaining the MDGs.

We are in favour of a joint search for effective and

feasible development financing mechanisms. Partial

writing off of debts could be equally important, since it

would make it possible to invest liberated funds into

education, environmental protection, combating

HIV/AIDS and other MDGs.

Tajikistan wholeheartedly supports the creation of

a mechanism of additional measures aimed at making

further progress in the realization of the right to

development, as enshrined in the Declaration on the

Right to Development. Among the issues that should be

regarded as associated with that right are the rational

usage of natural resources for the purpose of

development, provision for the well-being of the

population and addressing the problems of poverty and

unemployment.

In that connection, Tajikistan believes it has the

right to develop the hydropower sector of the economy

by building water reservoirs and dams on the major

rivers of the country, because sustainable development,

improved living standards of the population,

achievement of the MDGs, the provision of reliable

regulated irrigation water flows and an increased

production of electrical energy depend on the

availability of hydropower resources. Not only is the

implementation of hydropower projects in Tajikistan

extremely advantageous for the country itself, but it

will also be able to influence favourably the

sustainable development of the other States of the

region. For instance, the completion of the construction

of the Ragun hydropower station in Tajikistan alone

will make it possible to supply an extra three million

hectares of land with water in the neighbouring Central

Asian states. Only an integrated approach towards the

use of hydropower and other natural resources of the

region, based on the principles of mutual

understanding, assistance and trust among the States of

the region, can ensure sustainable development in the

region and promote a resolution of environmental

problems, which are closely interconnected with the

rational use of those resources.

Tajikistan is interested in getting support and

establishing a partnership with countries and

international organizations in the field of renewable

sources of energy and energy-efficient technologies,

which help to reduce the usage of other traditional

types of energy that negatively affect our climate and

do enormous damage to the environment and to the

future of humanity.

Tajikistan welcomes the High-Level Event on

Climate Change held recently in New York and the

forthcoming conference on the same subject to be held

in Bali in December 2007.

Within the context of global warming,

degradation of glaciers and the snow cover on the

territories of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which are the

upper watershed zones of Central Asia’s rivers, has

become an ever increasing concern for the Central

Asian region. According to various sources, over the

last 10 years the area of glaciers in Tajikistan has

decreased by 30 to 35 per cent. Although supplying the

population with drinking water is being discussed at

the top level, and the fact that numerous declarations

and other international instruments have already been

adopted on this issue, the situation remains urgent. The

solution of the problem requires further coordinated

efforts on behalf of countries and international

organizations. This problem is not only addressed in

the Millennium Development Goals, but it is also

ranked among those challenges that the world

community encounters on a daily basis.

For this reason, the implementation of the

International Decade for Action “Water for Life”,

proclaimed by the United Nations on the initiative of

the Republic of Tajikistan, is regarded as even more

timely and appropriate. As part of the Decade, the

Government of Tajikistan has planned an international

conference for 2008 in Dushanbe on water-related

natural disasters, to be held in cooperation with United

Nations agencies and other international organizations.

Tajikistan hopes that all United Nations Member States

will participate actively in this conference.

From time immemorial the water originating in

Tajikistan has quenched the thirst of all nations of

Central Asia and has irrigated the dry steppes of the

region. However, it is obvious that the region has

already been experiencing water-related difficulties

that can become more aggravated on a yearly basis. To

address this urgent problem, Tajikistan proposes to

provide the Central Asian States with environmentally

sound freshwater from Lake Sarez, which is located at

a height of almost 3,300 metres above sea level and

which could provide freshwater to half the population

of Central Asia. The implementation of this initiative

would make it possible to eliminate the real threat of

an overflow of Lake Sarez, which could affect millions

of people who reside in the downstream areas in

neighbouring countries.

As for the development of trade and economic

cooperation with other countries, the major challenge

that Tajikistan is facing in this area is lack of access to

the sea and other transportation and communication

difficulties. For this reason, Tajikistan is committed to

the decisions and recommendations outlined in the

Almaty Programme of Action for transit transport

cooperation, which addresses the special needs of

landlocked developing countries to efficiently use the

available transport infrastructure and to increase transit

capacity in order to encourage development of trade

and the advancement of investments in Central Asia.

The rehabilitation process in Afghanistan is

creating favourable conditions for cooperation in the

region in the implementation of transportation and

communication projects aimed at gaining access to

southern sea ports. The creation of new multi-optional

transport corridors and the restoration of the Great Silk

Road routes seek to establish a unified interconnected

system of communications and to provide the Central

Asian States with reliable access to promising markets.

The August opening of the bridge across the Pyandj

River between Tajikistan and Afghanistan was among

the practical measures taken to achieve that goal.

The magnitude of the challenges facing the

international community requires the further

strengthening of our Organization. There is no doubt

that all of us must do our utmost to make the United

Nations even more effective in addressing current

issues. For that reason, we believe that all of us must

shoulder our responsibilities towards the Organization,

in the interests of all Member States.