INTERNATIONAL FORUM “DIALOGUE AS A GUARANTEE OF PEACE”
On December 11, 2023, the International Forum “Dialogue is a Guarantee of Peace”, dedicated to the 28th anniversary of the Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan was held at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An exhibition of diplomatic missions accredited in Turkmenistan were also organized as part of the forum.
Ambassadors of Turkmenistan in foreign countries, representatives of domestic ministries and departments, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Turkmenistan took part in that forum.
At the beginning of the forum, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov welcomed the participants, expressed gratitude to the organizers, and congratulated them on the International Day of Neutrality, which is widely celebrated on December 12. Afterwards, Aksoltan Torayeva, the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN, the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, Dimitry Shlapachenko, During the forum, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Zhang Ming, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Deputy Administrator of the UN Development Program and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS Ivan Zhivkovic, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Aksoltan Atayeva, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia, head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Kaha Imnadze made their speech. Those who spoke in their speeches emphasized the principles of honesty, humanitarian, peace-loving, strong bilateral and multilateral relations of the Neutral Turkmenistan and its importance in international cooperation, also Turkmenistan’s contribution to solving global problems and congratulated participants and the Turkmen people on the International Day of Neutrality.
At the end of the plenary session, an address was adopted to the Esteemed President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov on behalf of the participants of the International Forum “Dialogue - a Guarantee of Peace”.
In the circumstances of international forum there were four thematic sessions “Using dialogue as an instrument of preventive diplomacy”, “The role of women in achieving peace through dialogue”, “The voice of youth: Empowering the next generation through Dialogue ”, “International Cooperation: Diplomatic Dialogue on Global Environmental Cooperation.”
As is known, on December 12, 1995, during the UN General Assembly, all, without exception, 185 countries that were members of this organization at that time voted for the adoption of a special Resolution “Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan”. On June 3, 2015, during the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, with the support of 193 states, the Declaration of “Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan” was adopted for the second time. On February 2, 2017, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming December 12 as International Day of Neutrality. This decision is considered as proof of the special role of Turkmenistan in ensuring global peace and security.
Suray Owliyagulyyeva,
Lecturer of the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy
of the Institute of International Relations
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan