The International Year of Peace and Trust was officially launched at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
The ceremony was attended by the leaders of the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan, members of the Mejlis (parliament), heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Ashgabat, rectors of the country's higher education establishments, representatives of the national and foreign mass media.
Representatives of the UN, the Organization for Economic Cooperation, the CIS and other international and regional structures took part in the ceremony via videoconference.
Opening the ceremony, acting UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Christine Weigand emphasized the importance of the Turkmenistan-initiated International Year of Peace and Trust in maintaining peace, stability and mutual understanding between peoples.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov noted that the unanimous adoption at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly of the resolution declaring 2021 the International Year of Peace and Trust was the result of Turkmenistan's efforts aimed at strengthening the culture of peace and trust in international relationship.
"Putting forward this idea, the head of the Turkmen state emphasized that it is very practical in nature, calling on the international community to back up the adopted document with practical measures and fill it with specific content,” Meredov said.
The ceremony was attended by head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia Natalya German; Chairperson of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkyr, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Aksoltan Atayeva; Chairperson of the Executive Committee - CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev and others.
They noted the effectiveness of the peace-making initiatives of Turkmenistan, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as strengthening of global peace and stability.
During the ceremony, the participants discussed the prospects of holding joint events within the framework of the International Year of Peace and Trust.They exchanged views on the development of cooperation between countries, including the activities on the platforms of regional and international organizations in the name of peace, stability and sustainable development.
The meeting resulted in the adoption of the Roadmap for the International Year of Peace and Trust.