Turkmenistan, 2007

On behalf of the people and the Government

of Turkmenistan, I wish to express my good wishes to

all members and to congratulate them on the beginning

of the sixty-second session of the General Assembly.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate

Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his election to the post of

Secretary-General and to wish him every success in

discharging his challenging responsibilities.

I should also like to congratulate Mr. Srgjan

Kerim on his election to the presidency of the

Assembly. I am certain that under his guidance, the

work of the Assembly will be effective and fruitful.

Since the very first days of its independence,

Turkmenistan has considered the ideals of the United

Nations to be fully in accordance with our aspirations

in terms of relations with the international community.

The basic principles of the Organization the

maintenance of peace, equality of rights, respect for the

sovereignty of all States and their right to choose their

own path of development formed the basis for our

country’s foreign policy, in which cooperation with the

United Nations has become a priority area.

Time has proved that the choice made by our

country was right and well founded. In 15 years of

intense cooperation with the United Nations,

Turkmenistan has found its own place in the

international arena and has gained invaluable

experience in interacting with the world community

and developing harmonious, equal and mutually

respectful relations with other nations. We have every

right to be proud of the fact that it was within these

walls that resolution 50/80 [A], on the permanent

neutrality of Turkmenistan, was adopted on

12 December 1995 a historic event for our country.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the resolution on

neutrality has become the foundation of our foreign

policy and has played a major role in shaping our

national policy.

Cooperation with the United Nations will

continue to drive our foreign policy. Here, I should like

to emphasize that such cooperation enriches our

bilateral and multilateral ties and makes them more

meaningful. That is most apparent in regional matters,

where the participation of the United Nations and its

specialized agencies promotes convergence of States’

approaches to issues, thus creating a favourable

political, diplomatic and legal environment for their

resolution through concerted effort.

In that context, I consider the recent decision to

establish a United Nations Regional Centre for

Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia to be a major

milestone. I am confident that the inauguration of the

Centre, set for the end of the year, will mark an entirely

new phase in the efforts of our country and our

neighbours to ensure peace, security and stability in the

region.

Turkmenistan is fully prepared to engage in

constructive and fruitful cooperation with the Centre.

We are certain that its work will be a strong and

positive force in resolving the problems faced by our

region. We highly appreciate the decision to establish

the Centre in Ashgabat, capital of neutral

Turkmenistan. We see that as an expression of the

Organization’s confidence in our country. Mindful of

our great responsibility, I assure the Assembly that our

country will do everything necessary to make the

Centre’s work effective and fruitful.

Notwithstanding current changes in the world, the

great humanist ideals of the United Nations and the

principles of its Charter should continue to serve as the

moral and legal pillar of the international order. Only

on this basis can the issues of United Nations reform

be considered. United Nations reform as a whole

should be meaningful and goal-oriented and

correspond to the objective realities of the age. In this

respect, Turkmenistan supports the efforts of the

United Nations Member States and the Secretary-

General to make the work of the Organization more

dynamic, efficient, transparent and democratic.

In that context, Turkmenistan shares the view that

it is necessary to improve further the structure of the

Security Council and to develop closer and more

effective interaction between the Security Council and

the General Assembly. We are in favour of reforming

the United Nations, making it stronger, enhancing its

work and expanding the role and functions of the

Security Council as a guarantor of international peace,

security and stability.

Turkmenistan’s neutral status, its foreign policy

doctrine of non-affiliation with any blocs and its

rejection of the use of force as a means of resolving

international disputes predetermine our stance with

regard to the issues of peace and security. In this

context, Turkmenistan fully supports international

efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction, their delivery systems and related

technologies. Accordingly, Turkmenistan has been

taking and will continue to take consistent practical

steps to ensure implementation of the international

legal framework on the non-proliferation of weapons

of mass destruction. In its legislation, Turkmenistan

proclaims its refusal to possess, manufacture, store or

transport nuclear, chemical, bacteriological and other

types of weapons of mass destruction or related

technologies. In 2005, the People’s Council of

Turkmenistan decided to adopt a Statement on

Supporting the Initiatives of International

Organizations to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons

of Mass Destruction. Last year, in Semipalatinsk,

Turkmenistan, together with other States of the region,

signed the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in

Central Asia. That document is unique in many ways,

since, for the first time since the Second World War, it

proclaims the establishment of a vast region free of

nuclear weapons on the map of the northern

hemisphere. It is noteworthy that our joint initiative

echoes the aspirations of the majority of countries and

that it has been highly acclaimed by the international

community and endorsed by the United Nations

General Assembly. Let me take this opportunity to

express our appreciation to all States, international and

regional organizations that have supported the

document.

However, we need to realize that Central Asia is

not isolated. Our region has thousands of historical,

ethnic and humanitarian ties with neighbouring States.

In this context, Turkmenistan’s concern with the events

in Afghanistan is justified. We rejoice at the success of

the Afghan people in building a peaceful life; we feel

the difficulties they face as our own. Turkmenistan is

assisting Afghanistan in rebuilding its economy, by

providing professional training, in the construction of

social facilities and by providing oil and power to some

provinces of the country. Together with the

international community, and with the United Nations,

we are striving to help achieve stability for Afghanistan

and to help the brotherly people of that country to

achieve peace and well-being.

Geographically, Turkmenistan is conveniently

located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Over its

years of independence, our country has built a modern

transportation and communication infrastructure. As an

important element of international trade and economic

relations, it may also become a factor leading to

significant revitalization and further development of

cultural interaction between the regions, thus

promoting rapprochement and mutual understanding

between nations. It is in that spirit that Turkmenistan

defines its international energy strategy, aimed at

developing a multiple pipeline system to bring

Turkmen energy resources to international markets on

a stable and long-term basis. This strategy is not

dependent on either political circumstances or any kind

of ideological bias. Our stand on this matter is a stand

of principle and full transparency. We support the

implementation of economically justified pipeline

projects that would guarantee security, including

environmental safety. That will determine their multi-

track character. In this context, Turkmenistan is in

favour of the mutually advantageous use of energy

resources by both exporters and consumers.

From this point of view, we are convinced that

the implementation of projects aimed at bringing

Turkmen energy to international markets will provide

another impulse to stimulate inter-State and

interregional trade and economic relations. That will

also serve to promote further economic growth in the

countries where pipelines run and assist in the

resolution of issues relating to the provision of light

and heat, the development of production and social

infrastructure and job creation, which will, ultimately,

have a positive effect on the overall political climate

within and beyond the region.

Turkmenistan is taking very seriously the issue of

environmental protection and a whole range of other

issues that will have to be addressed by engaging the

capacity of the international community at large. In this

context, we support the efforts of the Secretary-General

to promote and develop broad international

cooperation, with a view to finding a comprehensive

solution to this global problem. To that end,

Turkmenistan is taking specific steps at the national

level. Up to 200 million dollars are annually earmarked

in the national budget for environmental protection.

Our country has passed legislation setting standards to

prevent environmental pollution, and it is introducing

technologies to ensure environmental safety of our key

sector, the oil and gas industry. Already for over 10

years, Turkmenistan has been implementing a large-

scale nation-wide programme entitled “The Green

Belt”, which has resulted in millions of trees being

planted on thousands of hectares all over the country.

We are fully committed to the goals of the Kyoto

Protocol, and we are ready to cooperate with all

international partners in implementing its provisions.

As a full-fledged member of the international

community, Turkmenistan is developing a genuinely

democratic and legal foundation for its national

statehood. The greatest value of our society is the

individual, and his or her rights and freedoms. Today,

this is at the centre of our State policy.

Processes aimed at the further democratization of

public and political life, the establishment of civil

society, the introduction of modern electoral

mechanisms and the formation of local government

bodies are gaining momentum. A constructive

innovative search for a reasonable balance between the

authority of the State and society at large is under way.

We are not trying to speed up the process, and we are

not pushing it into some artificial time frame. The most

important thing is that it has become irreversible and is

receiving recognition and support both within and

outside the country. And, in this respect, we highly

appreciate the assistance provided to us by

international organizations in general and by the

United Nations in particular.

Today, Turkmenistan is open to the world; it is

open to broad-scale partnership in all areas of activity.

Together with the rest of the community of nations, our

country is ready to work further to promote the

principles of international law and the ideals of

humanism, justice, tolerance and mutual respect as

determinant factors in modern relations among States.

The status of permanent neutrality not only

imposes on our country important foreign policy

obligations but also obliges us to shape our foreign and

social policies accordingly. In that context, I would like

to emphasize that Turkmenistan’s neutrality is

irreversible and that our commitment to the resultant

international obligations is firm. We intend to follow

this path with resolve, and we will always be open to

international cooperation promoting implementation of

the strategic priorities of the community of nations.