HEAD OF THE REGIONAL CENTRE FOR PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY FOR CENTRAL ASIA HELD A PRESS-CONFERENCE

On the 6th of January 2021, a press-conference of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Head of the Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia Natalia Gherman was held in Ashgabat.

The representatives of the local mass media and the journalists accredited in Turkmenistan participated to the event, including the foreign press that took part in the press-conference through videoconferencing. Among the participants, the representatives of the mass media of Azerbaijan, the Great Britain, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and other countries.

Opening the press-conference, N.Gherman congratulated everyone with the New Year and expressed gratitude for cooperation. She noted that in spite of the challenges faced by the humankind in the previous year, it was full of important events. “We marked the 25th anniversary of permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan which has symbolically coincided with the historic 75th jubilee of the United Nations,” noted Ms.Gherman.

She told to the participants about the important events and achievements of 2020 and highly appraised the level of cooperation between the countries of the Central Asia in political, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres.

During her speech, Ms.Gherman highlighted the Final Ashgabat Document adopted upon the outcomes of the International Conference “Policy of Neutrality and Its Importance in Ensuring Universal Peace, Security and Sustainable Development” which was held in Ashgabat on December 12 of last year in honor of the 25th anniversary of permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan. As known, the given Document was published on the official languages of the UN and circulated as the documents of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.

“It is vital to note that the role of the neutrality policy in the development of peaceful, friendly and mutually beneficial relations among the countries of the world is comprehensively stated in the Final Document. It contributes to the strengthening of international peace and security on the regional and global levels,” said Ms.Gherman.

It was also underlined that the policy of neutrality urges to use the mechanisms of preventive diplomacy which is one of main functions of the UN while preventing the conflicts and in the processes of peace building.

Also, during her speech N.Gherman underlined the importance of the resolution of the UN General Assembly initiated by the President of Turkmenistan on declaring the year 2021 as the International Year of Peace and Trust. “For us, the International Year of Peace and Trust stands as an efficient method of mobilizing the international community for actions aimed at reinforcing peace and trust in the relations among the states, in particular on the basis of political dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation for attaining sustainable peace, solidarity and harmony,” added N.Gherman.