Ashgabat hosted an international conference titled “International Cooperation of Independent, Permanently Neutral Turkmenistan for Peace and Trust” attended by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
The forum brought together members of the government and parliament of Turkmenistan, heads of public associations, representatives of the mass media, higher education establishments as well as foreign diplomats accredited in Ashgabat.
Speaking at the conference, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2021 the International Year of Peace and Trust at Turkmenistan’s initiative, which reflects the international community’s aspiration to create conditions for building respectful relations based on the norms of international law and the UN Charter.
The head of state emphasized the role of the UN in ensuring global security.
The conference heard video messages by the OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid; by Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee - Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev; by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Olga Algayerova; and by the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana.
Other speakers included the UN Resident Coordinator a.i., UNICEF Representative in Ashgabat Christine Weigand; Russian Ambassador Alexander Blokhin; US Ambassador Matthew Steven Klimov; Head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat, Ambassador Natalia Drozd and EU Ambassador Diego Ruiz Alonso.
Thanking the speakers, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov addressed the high-level forum participants with closing remarks. He expressed gratitude to everyone for the kind words to the government and people of Turkmenistan and active participation in the conference.
The international conference concluded with a ceremony of signing international documents at the Congress Center.