Turkmenistan, 2012

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.