Briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan: transport is becoming critical
A briefing was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, at which the main results of the Conference of Ministers of Transport of Landlocked Developing Countries, held on August 15-16 in Turkmenbashi, were considered.
Heads of diplomatic missions and representative offices of international organizations working in Ashgabat, media representatives, foreign journalists accredited in Turkmenistan, as well as heads and representatives of national media were invited to participate in the discussions.
At the beginning of the event, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov expressed gratitude to the countries and international organizations delegations of which took part in the forum, as well as to its speakers. The Minister thanked the participants of the conference for the expressed ideas, proposals and recommendations, which will create the basis for further joint work on the development of interregional transport infrastructure.
This topic is of critical importance during the period of post-COVID recovery, Meredov emphasized. Summarizing the content of speeches and discussions at the forum, he noted that the development of "hard" and "soft" transport infrastructure, elimination of unnecessary customs and migration barriers, attraction of investments in the global transport sector, conditions for increasing the intensity of transport communications were discussed.
All these are elements of the Ashgabat Process, which was laid down in 2016 as an essential and integral part of the global transport agenda. This process has stimulated an increase in the activity of international cooperation, primarily on the platforms of the UN. It also affected the rapid development of the transport complex of Turkmenistan, especially in the private sector, where today more than 100 transport and logistics companies operate.
The conference continuing the Ashgabat process in Turkmenbashi, Avaza, was attended by 164 delegates from 36 countries and 29 international organizations. Most of the representatives were personally present at the forum, while 48 people connected to its work remotely. The plenary sessions were broadcast live on the UN web channel with simultaneous translation into English, French, Spanish and Russian.
In addition to sessions, more than 30 bilateral meetings took place on the sidelines of the conference, in particular, 23 with the participation of the Turkmen side. Four cooperation documents were signed.
“Turkmenistan's idea of holding this event was considered very useful,” added the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, Dmitry Shlapachenko. “We view the Avaza forum as an integral part of the preparations for the third international conference on landlocked countries, which is scheduled to be held in 2024.”
The UN gave a high assessment to the conference held on the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea, including in terms of the level of organization, Shlapachenko said. "This is a great success for Turkmenistan," he stressed.
The same opinion was expressed at the briefing by the ambassadors of different countries. Russian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Alexander Blokhin noted that the past transport forum had raised the bar of cooperation. He also paid special attention to the proposals put forward by President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov in his video message to the forum participants. Among them: the creation of a special working group at the UN, which would purposefully defend the interests of landlocked countries in the transport sector, the preparation of a draft resolution on enhancing the role of such countries in global transport cooperation.
Ambassador of Uzbekistan Akmaljon Kuchkarov noted the high professionalism of the organizers of the transport conference and congratulated the President of Turkmenistan on the successful holding of the forum, during which the parties synchronized watches on a number of regional projects, including with the participation of Uzbekistan.
French Ambassador Isabelle Guinel also shared her opinion on the great importance of the conference in Avaza, emphasizing that she was impressed by Turkmenistan's ability to perfectly organize such a major event with the participation of representatives of 5 continents, the prompt distribution of all materials in the working languages of the UN, etc.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan Askar Tazhibaev and Ambassador of Iran to Turkmenistan Golamabbas Arbabkhales and other diplomats also spoke at the briefing. All of them stressed the valuable contribution of the transport conference to the future of cooperation and assured of their readiness to promote multilateral cooperation on global sustainable transport issues.
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