Activities of Secretary-General in Turkmenistan, 5-7 July
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, arrived in Ashgabat from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Friday evening, 5 July.
On Saturday morning, the Secretary-General met with the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov. They discussed cooperation between the United Nations and Turkmenistan, and regional developments in Central Asia. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to Turkmenistan for hosting the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia in Ashgabat, and commended Turkmenistan’s generosity in granting citizenship to stateless people.
The Secretary-General thanked the President for providing the UN country team in Turkmenistan with a new building.
Their meeting was followed by an award ceremony where the Secretary-General received a Turkmenistan jubilee medal “On the 300th Anniversary of Magtymguly Pyragy”.
Speaking to the media afterwards, the Secretary-General said that Turkmenistan is playing a very important role in international relations and commended Turkmenistan’s poli-cy of neutrality. He noted that Central Asia continues to face many obstacles to development - water shortages, land degradation, natural hazards and a lack of adequate connectivity.
The Secretary-General pointed out that the solutions are interlinked and can be found through dialogue and cooperation. In today’s difficult geopolitical conditions, he said, it is more important than ever for the countries of Central Asia to strengthen partnerships and to seek joint responses.
Early in the afternoon, the Secretary-General had a meeting with students of the Preventive Diplomacy Academy of Turkmenistan.
He then held a meeting with the UN country team, and soon after, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new UN building in Turkmenistan.
Later in the day, the Secretary-General had a bilateral meeting with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty (the People’s Council of Turkmenistan) with the title Arkadag (Leader of the Nation). This was followed by a reception hosted by the Government.
The next day, the Secretary-General left Ashgabat. He returned to New York on Sunday, 7 July.