OREANDA-NEWS. June 25, 2010. Ashgabat hosts international conference on disarmament in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea Basin

The international conference on disarmament in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea Basin organized by the host country under the aegis of the United Nations Organisations opened in Ashgabat.

The Central Asian states and other countries of the world and the authoritative international and regional organisations that deal with these issues delegated their representatives to the forum organized in Ashgabat on the initiative of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov put forward at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly last autumn.

The large-scale preparatory work carried out for the past few months preceded the conference that is of intense mass interest across the world. This event was announced in popular printed and electronic publications.

As is known, strengthening of global peace and security including facilitation of the global processes of disarmament and establishment of constructive international cooperation are the priorities of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy. This was underlined by the President of Turkmenistan addressing the 64th session of the UN General Assembly:

“The global realities, the nature and tendencies of political, economic and social processes require closer and coordinated cooperation of states and large international organisations aimed at achieving the common ultimate goal of ensuring peace and security, create the conditions conducive to sustainable development and progress at a global level and preserve legal and moral fundamental principles underling the world order.”

The honorary status of permanent positive neutrality of Turkmenistan recognized by the world community enables our country to carry out the peacemaking activity opening up vast opportunities for establishing an active international dialogue. A striking illustration of Turkmenistan’s profound contribution to global efforts to maintain and strengthen the global security system, prevent and neutralize the threats of emerging conflicts is the opening of the headquarters of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia in Ashgabat that carries out monitoring and analyzes existing problems and provides assistance in developing the most effective approaches to addressing the issues critical to our region.

Standing steadfast to the principles of friendliness and good neighbourliness underlying its foreign policy doctrine, Turkmenistan aims its efforts at achieving stability in Central Asia and the Caspian region. That is vividly evidenced by active assistance provided by Turkmenistan to neighbouring Afghanistan for the past years to help this country to achieve peace and cohesion and revive the national economy. Thus, Turkmenistan proves in practice that goodwill embodied in continuous support and assistance in construction and reconstruction of social infrastructure facilities and supplies of electric power on preferential terms is much more effective than any coercive solutions to this protracted problem.

By putting forward the important and timely initiatives invariably welcomed by the world community and countries in the region Turkmenistan demonstrates qualitatively new approaches to addressing problems and challenges of the modern world. This directly concerns urgent problems such as disarmament that is of particular concern across the world.

Facilitating the processes of disarmament and reduction of arsenals of weapon, in particular non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Turkmenistan takes active measures in this field. Our country together with other countries of the region signed the Agreement on the establishment of the nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia. In recent years Turkmenistan has acceded to a number of important international documents and conventions on disarmament including those renouncing production, storage, transport and purchase of nuclear, chemical, bacteriological weapons and other kinds of weapons of mass destruction and technologies for producing new kinds of weapons.

Undoubtedly, the international conference on disarmament in Ashgabat will be an important step to foster the dialogue on solutions to this problem. The forum is expected to identify the further plans for cooperation of the Central Asian states aimed at fulfilling the commitments undertaken and the measures to be taken to establish close, constructive cooperation on the disarmament issues with all international structures concerned.