Cooperation of the countries of Central Asia for the sake of the security of the region
On Friday, the High-Level International Conference “Regional Cooperation of Central Asian Countries in the Framework of the Joint Action Plan for the Implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy” continued its work in the capital of Uzbekistan.
On the first day of the forum, as ORIENT has already reported, representatives of Turkmenistan – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vepa Khadzhiev and…
...and the rector of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Dzhumamyrat Gurbangeldiyev.
On the second day of the International Conference, the program of which was devoted to the contribution of the expert and analytical community of Central and South Asia to ensuring regional security, the head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the IMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Shiri Shiriyev, spoke.
In his speech, the speaker noted that the position of Turkmenistan is based on the fundamental concept of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the integrity and indivisibility of the concept of security in the geopolitical sense and in terms of the interconnectedness of all its aspects.
In particular, it was noted that Central Asia is a region where the geopolitical and geo-economic interests of many countries are closely intertwined. For this region has huge transport and transit opportunities, rich natural resources, and great human potential.
An important and effective platform for multilateral partnership between the Central Asian states in various areas of cooperation, including security issues, is the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of Central Asian States.
In the joint Statement of the Presidents of the Central Asian countries, adopted in August last year, the idea of a dialogue on security and cooperation in the region was supported as a permanent consultative platform, where topical development problems would be considered on a regular and systematic basis.
According to the head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the IMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the expert community considers it important to combine efforts in such areas as:
consolidation of international conditions for socio-economic development and job creation as one of the main methods of combating violent extremism.
prevention and timely elimination of risks and challenges that contribute to the radicalization of the population of the region.
improving the forms and methods of countering the use of the Internet and social networks for the purpose of promoting terrorism and recruiting supporters.
active assistance to the implementation of comprehensive measures aimed at raising the educational level of young people and creating broad employment opportunities for them.
An important segment of the region's security is the situation in neighboring Afghanistan. And the principled positions on this issue boil down to the fact that Turkmenistan is in favor of developing a dialogue with the current authorities of this country, while simultaneously advocating the formation of its state institutions in the legal direction.
At the same time, the speaker stressed that it is necessary to maintain, first of all, economic cooperation with Afghanistan. In this aspect, he considers it possible to progressively promote energy, transport and communication projects. The strategic perspective in this direction is the involvement of Afghanistan in the system of world economic relations and the creation of conditions for the country's integration into the international economic space.
It is also advisable for the expert community to additionally discuss the possibilities of developing a consolidated approach to cooperation with international organizations and financial institutions on their participation in the implementation of energy, transport, industrial and other projects in Afghanistan.
Turkmenistan, for its part, calls on states and international organizations to actively provide regular and comprehensive humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. Our country, the speaker stressed, acting in this direction, has recently built a school, a maternity hospital, a hospital in the countryside, a mosque in Afghanistan. Humanitarian cargoes regularly go from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan. And such assistance, as President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said, will be continued.
Recently, the expert community has increasingly noted that ecology, climate change, and water problems are serious factors affecting the degree of security in the world and in individual regions. All this is directly related to the work to ensure a high level of security in the Central Asian region.
The position of Turkmenistan is that environmental issues, including water issues, should be resolved on the basis of universally recognized norms of international law, mutual consideration of the interests of all countries of the region and with the broad participation of international organizations.
Today, more than ever, the role of interaction between the expert community at the regional and global levels is important. For a well-coordinated and regular dialogue between experts serves as the basis for the development of balanced and objective decisions.
For such well-coordinated work on the exchange of views on urgent issues, the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia can serve as a common platform.
In terms of active interaction between experts, cooperation under the auspices of the UN, the OSCE and other international organizations of events will also make a significant contribution. In the future, the established institutions of inter-expert cooperation will also contribute to the intensification of the dialogue, said Shiri Shiriyev, head of the Center for Strategic Studies of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
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