Turkmenistan, 2011

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.