Turkmenistan, 2008

I warmly greet and congratulate the members of the

Assembly as we begin our work at the sixty-third

session.

First of all, I would like to convey to

representatives and the peoples of their countries the

wishes for peace and prosperity of His Excellency

Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, President of

Turkmenistan. Allow me to congratulate the esteemed

President, Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, on his

election to that high and responsible post and to wish

him success in organizing the fruitful work of the

General Assembly at this sixty-third session. Allow me

also to thank Mr. Srgjan Kerim for his successful

leadership of the Assembly at its previous session and

for his active collaboration with the delegations.

The United Nations, which is mandated to discuss

and resolve issues relating to the maintenance of

international peace and security, is currently at one of

the most critical moments in its history. That is

especially evident against the background of current

developments at the global and regional levels. The

diversity of contemporary challenges and threats calls

for the adequate preparation of a whole range of

approaches to prevent them through cooperation among

all Member States.

Today, we need solid measures to counter and

fight such global challenges as international terrorism,

human trafficking, organized crime, illegal drug

trafficking and the threat of the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction. We are also witnessing

the effects of climate change and environmental

degradation. On top of that, the world community is

facing global issues relating to energy and food

security.

Turkmenistan is a principled and active

participant in the process to identify joint actions

aimed at resolving the most pressing problems of our

time. In that context, we regard the need to intensify

international action to ensure peace and security as a

priority task. The fight against terrorism is one of the

most important aspects of that problem.

Turkmenistan, as a party to major United Nations

instruments to combat international terrorism and

organized crime, supports the Organization’s efforts to

develop a global strategy to fight terrorism and stands

ready to provide its practical assistance to the

international community in that regard.

The non-proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction is a pressing issue on the international

agenda that is connected with ensuring peace and

security. Our country plays an active role in identifying

non-proliferation measures and takes practical steps for

their implementation at the national and international

levels. As a party to the Treaty on the

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Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and other very

important international legal instruments in that sphere,

Turkmenistan has joined international initiatives aimed

at preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction.

In that connection, the signing of the Treaty on a

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

prepared and adopted under the aegis of the United

Nations in 2006, has become an important element in

the efforts of the world community to resolve the issue.

Today, we must all take a fresh look at the

existing system for maintaining international peace and

security. The current situation and emerging trends call

for an adequate approach and the formulation of

comprehensive measures, and the community of

nations should take part in their implementation. I am

confident that ongoing discussions and deliberations at

this session will provide us with an opportunity to take

stock of the entire panorama of the contemporary

world through the prism of ensuring a safe life for

States and peoples.

Undoubtedly, the General Assembly will help to

consolidate efforts of Member States for the effective

implementation of such measures. Turkmenistan

supports close cooperation with the United Nations in

adopting comprehensive measures for collective

interaction to address the most pressing issues of our

times. In that connection, we believe it necessary to

consider qualitatively new factors in ensuring security.

Energy security has become an integral

component of the global security system. The

availability and accessibility of fuel and energy

resources, their free delivery to international markets

and effective use by consumers have become major

factors in the development of the world economy as a

whole.

As a major oil and natural gas producer,

Turkmenistan holds a prominent place in the global

energy system. In that connection, we take a highly

responsible approach to developing international

cooperation on the basis of our national interests and

the needs of our partners. Turkmenistan’s policy, of

diversifying supplies of hydrocarbon materials and

ensuring energy security has become an important

factor in that approach. It is apparent that major

investments are needed to develop an effective and

stable system of global energy security and that a

considerable share of those investments should be

directed towards the transportation of hydrocarbons

and the protection of energy infrastructure. In order to

ensure adequate supplies to the world energy markets,

we will also need a highly developed infrastructure of

international pipeline networks.

At the same time, ensuring energy security is not

simply a matter of increasing the pace of hydrocarbon

extraction, developing new deposits or expanding the

infrastructure for transporting and delivering energy

supplies to end users. We must take into account other

factors of that system, such as political stability, the

situation in world markets and the presence of security

guarantees for international pipelines.

Adequate security for energy infrastructure

facilities also implies a decrease in their vulnerability

to the impact of natural and man-made disasters,

potential risks connected to changes in the military and

political situation in certain regions of the world,

threats from international terrorists, and the

unauthorized siphoning of transported energy

resources. Such problems often interrupt or reduce

supplies of fuel, in particular oil and natural gas, and

result in major financial losses and higher prices for

energy supplies, with a negative impact on the

development of the world economy.

Therefore, it has become increasingly urgent to

coordinate the efforts of States to establish a unified

system of energy security. To that end, we must

develop an appropriate international legal framework

and effective partnership mechanisms, including for

the protection of energy transportation systems. It

appears that this problem affects us all, be they energy

producers, transit countries or consumers.

On that basis, Turkmenistan has launched an

initiative aimed at elaborating, under United Nations

auspices, a unique document defining the legal basis

and security guarantees for the functioning of

international pipelines. As a preliminary step towards

implementing that initiative, Turkmenistan has

prepared a draft resolution on the reliability of energy

transit and its role in ensuring stable economic

development and international cooperation, which is

being proposed for consideration at the sixty-third

session of the Assembly. Support for that draft

resolution may provide a good stepping stone for the

future and demonstrate the principled readiness of the

world community seriously to resolve those issues. In

that context, Turkmenistan is prepared to organize in

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2009 an international conference on that problem under

United Nations auspices in Ashgabat, our country’s

capital.

This year has witnessed an important event in the

life of Central Asia that, I believe, may have a

considerable positive impact on the situation in the

region. I mean by that the commencement of the

functioning of the United Nations Regional Centre for

Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia. The

inauguration of the Centre gave an impetus to the new

stage of strategic partnership of Central Asian

countries with the United Nations in undertaking a set

of measures aimed at preventing conflicts and

eliminating their underlying causes.

We consider the inauguration of the Centre as

testimony of the great attention that the world

community devotes to the processes occurring in

Central Asia, clear understanding of the role and

importance of our region in global international affairs

and a desire to provide utmost positive assistance in

tackling regional problems. In the long run, that

activity will be aimed at achieving the long-term goal

of ensuring the security, stability and sustainable

development of the States and peoples of the Central

Asian region.

Moreover, we believe that close interaction of

neighbouring countries is one of the most decisive

factors. In that context, by closely adhering to its

international obligations as a permanently neutral

State, Turkmenistan stands for developing good-

neighbourly cooperation with all the countries of the

region.

In that connection, Turkmenistan provides

economic and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan

and actively supports the efforts of the international

community to restore peaceful life in that fraternal

country. We would like to see Afghanistan as a

peaceful and prosperous nation, a good neighbour and

partner of all the States in the region.

The issue of the Caspian Sea has acquired special

relevance in the context of regional stability and

economic cooperation. Moreover, its comprehensive

consideration envisages the solution of problems

relating to the establishment of an international legal

basis for cooperation, as well as large-scale

development of the geo-economic potential of the

Caspian region as a major energy basin and

transportation crossroads between East and West,

South and North. For some States in the region that do

not have direct access to international sea

communications, the Caspian Sea is the most important

route to the world markets.

In that regard, effective activity in the Caspian

Sea is directly linked to the enhancement of security in

the adjacent region. Turkmenistan advocates that the

Caspian area should be a zone of peace, stability and

effective international cooperation on the basis of

mutual respect and a partnership of equality.

Being an integral part of the international

community, Turkmenistan sees its future in the

development of a truly democratic society, in which

every individual person, his or her rights and freedoms

and the all-round development of his or her potential

represent the main value and measure of the country’s

progress. Just a few days ago, Turkmenistan witnessed

a major political event — the adoption of the new

version of its constitution, which laid down the legal

basis for the development of national statehood and the

further democratization of social life. In particular, the

constitution considerably broadens the powers of the

parliament as the country’s main legislative body. In

addition, it expands the role of local bodies of

government and self-government, in whose work

citizens take an active part on a broad representative

basis.

Democratization is a natural process of

development of any State and society, and in that

connection, the strengthening of a democratic, secular

and law-based State is our own conscientious sovereign

decision, and we will steadfastly follow this course.

The foreign policy of Turkmenistan is determined

by the national interests of our State and its people, and

its main goal is civilized development on the basis of

positive integration into global political and economic

processes. Therefore, cooperation with the United

Nations is the strategic direction of our foreign policy,

and the principles enshrined in the United Nations

Charter serve for us as the basis for the development of

Turkmenistan’s relations with other States.

We view the United Nations as a universal

international organization, serving as the main

guarantor of the global security system and the

framework of the present and future world order. We

advocate that international law and the United Nations

Charter and their principles of respect for the

sovereignty of every nation and its choice of its own

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way of development and non-interference in internal

affairs should remain the basis of the world order and

the alpha and omega of relations among nations.

On that basis, Turkmenistan determines its view

to its partnership with the United Nations and states its

interest in strengthening and expanding its role in the

system of international relations, especially with regard

to the consolidation of the efforts of Member States to

ensure peace and security on Earth.