OREANDA-NEWS. March 6, 2009. 17 years ago, on March 2, 1992 Turkmenistan joined the United Nations Organisation. To mark this remarkable event the Central Council of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education organized the Turkmenistan-UN Cooperation of in the Epoch of New Revival international conference. The forum brought together the heads of the UN agencies accredited to Ashgabat and their partners representing the ministries and departments, educational establishments and public organisations of Turkmenistan at Magtymguly Turkmen State University.

Those speaking at the meeting noted that March 2, 1992 was a special date in the modern history of independent Turkmenistan when it became a full member of the United Nations – the authoritative international organisation which declared the achievement of peace and wellbeing on the planet to be its ultimate goal. By joining the United Nations Turkmenistan made an important step towards successful integration with the global community and gave priority to the policy of transparent and mutually beneficial cooperation on the constructive and mutually respectful basis. Turkmenistan’s adherence to building balanced intergovernmental relations predetermined that in 1995 the United Nations General Assembly delegated the status of permanent neutrality to Turkmenistan with the consensus of 185 countries.

The conference participants noted that over these years Turkmenistan had ardently advocated the enhancement of the authority of the United Nations which made efforts to build the constructive global dialogue on the nonviolent model of the world. Addressing the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stated that cooperation with the United Nations was a key aspect of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy strategy thus predetermining a number of the important steps to intensify traditional cooperation. These steps included the opening of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Ashgabat – the UN’s reliable outpost and an essential factor of security and sustainable development in the Central Asian region.

The conference participants noted that today Turkmenistan demonstrated the qualitatively new approaches to respond to challenges of the modern world. That was evidenced by the Turkmen leader’s initiative on international energy security, in particular reliability of transnational pipeline infrastructure, which was supported across the world.

Collaboration aimed at solving urgent problems was actively developed at the bilateral level. The 2005-2009 United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) marked a new stage of mutually beneficial partnership. In this regard the forum participants noted that the legal sector was a strategic field of Turkmenistan-United Nations cooperation. Endeavoring to build the genuinely jural democratic state Turkmenistan improved the national legislation through implementing the international law norms.

Focusing on the need to further concert efforts to develop the more effective mechanism for collaboration the forum participants expressed the readiness to expand sought-after fruitful cooperation.