On January 28, 2022, the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov with Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Head of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov took place in the videoconferencing format.
During the meeting the parties noted constructive level of the long-term cooperation of Turkmenistan with the UN and its specialized agencies on a broad range of issues. The head of the foreign policy agency of Turkmenistan confirmed firm commitment of the country to participate in the UN activities on strengthening the international system of countering terrorism, consolidation of international efforts to combat the terrorist threat, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
In the course of the meeting special attention was paid to the issues of regional and global security, particularly to the strengthening of interaction in the framework of implementation of the UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy on the regional level based on the provisions of Ashgabat Declaration of 2011 and the Central Asia’s Joint Plan of Action to counter terrorism. In this regard, the readiness was expressed to adopt the updated Central Asia’s Joint Plan of Action to counter terrorism on March 3-4, 2022 in Tashkent at the International Conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy in Central Asia.
In addition, the significance of regular meetings of the parties in the framework of multilateral platforms was highlighted. In this context, Turkmen side proposed to intensify consultations with the UN Counter-Terrorism Office on considering the possible formats and modalities of the Program office of the Counter-Terrorism Division in Ashgabat.
Appreciation was expressed for the joint cooperation of the UNOCT and the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy in the development and further implementation of the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy of Turkmenistan to prevent violent extremism and counter terrorism for 2021-2024, adopted in December 2020.
The parties also noted the importance of cooperation with the use of the potential of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia. The important steps of the Government of Turkmenistan in this context are emphasized. As is known, at present, the Turkmen side has prepared a draft resolution of the UN General Assembly "Strengthening regional and international cooperation to ensure peace, stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian region" and the document will be submitted for consideration by the 76th session of the General Assembly.
The parties stressed that the adoption of this resolution will contribute to the practical implementation of international initiatives of the Central Asian countries, including in the field of counterterrorism, reflected in the final document of the Consultative meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, held on August 6, 2021 in Turkmenistan.
The commitment of Turkmenistan to strengthening the culture of peace and trust in international relations was confirmed. In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan told the interlocutor about the new philosophy in international relations - "Dialogue is a guarantee of peace", initiated by the President of Turkmenistan.
