On May 16, 2023, the “Yyldyz” Hotel hosted the International Conference “The Role of Neutral States in Strengthening Security, Stability and Dialogue in the OSCE Region”, organized by the Mejlis of Turkmenistan jointly with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
The goal of this important multi-stakeholder meeting, held as part of the Helsinki+50 Call for Action initiative, is to promote and promote a comprehensive approach to ensuring security, lasting and sustainable peace for the sake of a happy future for humanity.
The Chairwoman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Margareta Söderfelt attended the forum, members of the OSCE PA Bureau, international experts, prominent public and political figures, parliamentarians from Austria, Italy, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Heads and representatives of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, ministries and departments of the country, heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Turkmenistan, representatives of universities, domestic and foreign media were invited to the meeting.
In the speeches of the conference participants, it was especially emphasized that Turkmenistan is the only country in the world whose legal status of permanent neutrality, consonant with the centuries-old traditions of the Turkmen people, was twice recognized by UN Resolutions. Today, the basic principles arising from this unique status, namely, strengthening global peace and security, expanding friendly and fraternal relations with interested countries and partners, ensuring sustainable development on the planet, are at the heart of the peaceful foreign policy pursued by independent Turkmenistan.
The constructive proposals put forward by our country to address topical issues on the global agenda, actively promote diplomacy of trust and mutual respect have become a significant contribution to the common efforts to return international dialogue to a peaceful diplomatic course.
Thus, at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, the Resolution submitted by Turkmenistan on declaring 2023 the International Year of Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace, co-sponsored by 68 member countries of the Organization, was considered and unanimously adopted.
The global initiative “Dialogue is a Guarantee of Peace”, put forward by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, is aimed at consolidating the efforts of the international community in strengthening the traditions of peaceful and trusting coexistence of peoples, restoring values and worldviews, defining a culture of peace and trust as an integral factor in international relations.
Positioned as a new philosophy of international relations, it directly echoes the UN Secretary-General's initiative to create a New Agenda for Building Peace, including reducing global strategic risks, investing in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, and supporting regional preventive measures.
On July 28, 2022, at the initiative of Turkmenistan, another landmark Resolution was adopted - “On declaring Central Asia a zone of peace, trust and cooperation”, unanimously adopted by 193 countries of the world.
This topic has also become a key one on the agenda of the current conference, designed to promote closer, multifaceted cooperation between the countries of the region, the active use of parliamentary diplomacy tools in strengthening peace, security and sustainable development.
Highly appreciating the importance of the practical steps taken by our country in this direction, the speakers emphasized that all these years Turkmenistan has been taking an active position in the development of an active regional and international dialogue, acting as a reliable partner of the OSCE and other international organizations.
It should be noted that the Mejlis of Turkmenistan became a full member of the OSCE PA in 2014 and since then has been taking an active part in its activities. Having a great positive experience, the Assembly contributes to the improvement of the electoral system of the states concerned and the activities of legislative bodies in general.
One of the significant areas of ongoing work is also the development and implementation of mechanisms for early warning and conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict reconstruction in the region. To achieve these goals, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly uses various instruments, including final declarations, as well as resolutions and recommendations that are adopted at the annual session.
The discussion of the importance of the neutral space in a polarized geopolitical context and the role of the Central Asian countries in promoting common goals and objectives under the auspices of the OSCE continued in the framework of the two working sessions that followed.
An exchange of views also took place on the prospects for the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation, which is one of the components of a constructive interstate dialogue on a bilateral and multilateral basis.
According to the general opinion of the participants, the national parliaments of the Central Asian countries have the potential to actively contribute to the implementation of the global 2030 Agenda and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The speeches made especially noted the initiatives and proposals of Turkmenistan to improve the work of parliamentary friendship groups, encourage cooperation between young parliamentarians, increase the activity of women deputies, etc. In this context, the Dialogue of Women of the Central Asian States, created on the initiative of Arkadag in December 2020, became the first structure in the history of Central Asia formed by representatives of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan with the support of the UN.
