Turkmenistan's transport diplomacy: a period of active practical actions is coming
The conference "International cooperation in the field of promoting Turkmenistan's transport Diplomacy" was held at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan on Monday, April 22. The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mejlis, the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers, the Institute of Engineering, Technical and Transport Communications, public and political figures, faculty, university students and media representatives.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Ahmet Gurbanov spoke at the conference. He stressed that in accordance with the Program for the Development of Transport Diplomacy of Turkmenistan for 2022-2025, strategic directions are envisaged for the comprehensive modernization of the material and technical base of all types of transport, the formation of modern specialized infrastructure, as well as for further strengthening Turkmenistan's position as a regional center of international transport and transit corridors.
A video message was also heard from Igor Runov, Executive Secretary of the International Center for Transport Diplomacy at the United Nations, who noted that Turkmenistan, which puts forward pioneering initiatives on transport at the international level, has been and remains a leader in promoting transport issues. He said that speaking last week at the High-level Meeting on Sustainable Transport within the framework of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, he made some statement.
The point of this statement is that the world of transportation is at a turning point today. The fact is that for centuries, modes of transport – sea, rail, aviation, and automobile – have developed almost independently of each other. However, with globalization, there is a need for coordination and common rules for the operation of all modes of transport in order to manage multimodal international corridors and global supply chains. When it became obvious, the UN Secretary-General created a group of experts on transport, which, after two years of work, presented its report at the first UN Global Conference on Sustainable Transport in Ashgabat in 2016. In addition "the train started."
Over the years, at the initiative of Turkmenistan, a number of UN resolutions on transport have been adopted, including the establishment of World Bicycle Day, the Friends of Sustainable Transport Group in New York, etc. Thus, Turkmenistan's efforts have created a common regulatory framework for the international transport sector.
"It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this, because before that, transport issues were considered secondary, auxiliary," Runov stressed. He also noted that, at the suggestion of Turkmenistan, the World Sustainable Transport Day was established on November 26, and major events in Ashgabat are preparing for it this year. The UN has decided to hold a Decade of Sustainable Transport in 2026-2035.
This means that in the next year and a half, a comprehensive program of goals and indicators for all modes of transport and all regions will have to be developed, which the country will have to achieve by the end of 2035. That is, the resolution stage of the formation of the global transit system and the development of global transport is being replaced by a period of active practical actions, Igor Runov summed up.
The Rector of the IIR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jumamyrat Gurbangeldiyev, drew attention to the fact that Turkmenistan was the first in the CIS to build railways to neighboring countries. We are talking about railways to Iran. Then the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway was built, which opened direct access to the Persian Gulf to the countries of the region. Time has already proved the economic importance and benefits of the project. Turkmenistan also conducts effective cooperation on transport issues within the framework of international organizations. All this puts forward new requirements for the training of young specialists in transport diplomacy, which is intended to be facilitated by the Training Center opened in the IIR Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the main areas of diplomacy of Turkmenistan.
After the speakers' speeches, the conference continued its work in the format of a round table on the topic "Sustainable transport system – the basis of trade and economic relations".
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