OREANDA-NEWS. May 03, 2011. It was announced that Turkmenistan had been elected a member of three UN Commissions during a meeting of deputies of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan and a delegation of the European Parliament led by Mr. Hannes Svoboda, who on a visit to our country.

It was emphasized that the decision to elect Turkmenistan as a member of the UN Commission on Population and Development, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees adopted at the organizational session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which had been held on April 27, was vivid evidence for the growing international prestige of the Turkmen state and its national leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, whose constructive initiatives found wide support from the world community, including the European Union.

In the course a constructive conversation the meeting participants exchanged views on the approaches to strengthening contact at the inter-Parliamentary level that was to ensure the conditions conducive to expanding a full-scale equal political dialogue, intensifying economic, scientific and cultural contacts between Turkmenistan and the European Union.

The members of the high-level delegation of the European Parliament were briefed on the large-scale programmes and progressive reforms implemented under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Particular attention was paid to the positive experience accumulated by the Turkmen Parliament. It was noted that in recent years a number of new laws regulating the critical spheres of life of the state and society had been adopted in Turkmenistan in the framework of the ongoing comprehensive programme for modernisation of the regulatory and legal framework. Particular attention was paid to such an important aspect as updating of legislative acts in line with universally recognised norms of international law and implementation of the fundamental provisions of the UN conventions ratified by our country.

It was noted that a critical aspect of the foreign policy strategy of the Turkmen state pursued under the leadership of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was enhancement of cooperation with the European Union. At the current stage of EU-Turkmenistan relationships based on mutual benefit, respect to national interests and international norms, implementation of the commitments undertaken enabled to promote the fruitful dialogue, fill it with a new content and achieve the progress.

Vivid evidence for the growing dynamics of cooperation at the current stage was high-level visits that had become frequent in recent years, exchanges of government delegations, the opening of Europa House in Ashgabat, the accreditation of the Head of the European Commission Representation and the implementation of joint projects. An important step to enhance the dialogue between Turkmenistan and the European Union was the official visit of President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso to Ashgabat in January this year.

Evaluating positively the progressive changes designed to strengthen the democratic foundations of the Turkmen state and society taking place in Turkmenistan, the representative of the European Parliament noted that intensification of partnerships with Turkmenistan that played a key role in the Central Asian region was a priority of the EU regional strategy.

In this context the members of the delegation stated that European countries supported the foreign policy strategy pursued by the Turkmen leader and put emphasis on the significance of constructive international initiatives put forward by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to ensure global security, stability and promote sustainable development in the region and all over the world.

Summing the meeting, the participants called for continuing traditionally fruitful cooperation within the Turkmenistan-European Union dialogue.

The meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture and the visits to M. Sopyev agricultural joint-stock association and A. S. Pushkin Turkmen-Russian secondary school are scheduled during the visit of the delegation to Turkmenistan.