Rashid Meredov, Vice-Premier, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, held a video conference meeting with Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
During the meeting, the parties highly appraised the intensification of cooperation of Turkmenistan with ESCAP in such areas as energy, trade, transport, statistics, migration, disasters’ risk reduction and others.
On behalf of the country’s government, the Vice-Premier reaffirmed the commitment of Turkmenistan to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030, which is reflected in the national programs and is served as a platform for cooperation with regional and international partners, including ESCAP.
A number of initiatives of the Turkmen side on the expansion of the partnership with ESCAP were voiced by the Minister, in particular, on the resolution of social, economic and ecological issues that are common for the countries of Central Asia and neighboring regions.
The parties also considered urgent issues related to the consequences of the pandemic and their overcoming. The Aral Sea problem and the joint actions taking into consideration the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Legal Migration were also discussed at the meeting.
The integration role of Turkmenistan in Central Asia was of special consideration. The opportunities of expanding cooperation on the ESCAP platform in the area of trade, particularly, simplification of procedures and data exchange to achieve paperless cross-border trade that could significantly increase export, were also reviewed.