Taking an active part in developing solutions to pressing issues on the regional and global agenda and actively engaging with leading UN institutions and specialized bodies, Turkmenistan demonstrates its readiness for broad international partnership. The potential for such cooperation is vast, with new promising areas emerging each year. The UN Secretary-General's visit to our country last week was another vivid confirmation of this.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and UN Secretary-General António Guterres discussed topics such as strengthening global and regional peace and security, developing partnership between our state and the UN, the situation in Afghanistan, climate change issues, and environmental aspects during the narrow and expanded format negotiations held in Ashgabat on July 6.

The parties noted that sustainable transport, energy security, SDG implementation, and other issues are currently on the Turkmenistan-UN cooperation agenda. It was emphasized that partnership in these areas is long-term and conducted on a systematic basis.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the significance of Turkmenistan's constructive initiatives and proposals for strengthening international cooperation in transport, energy, environmental protection, and other areas.

Highly appreciating Antonio Guterres' extensive work in the United Nations over many years and his significant contribution to developing cultural and humanitarian ties, ensuring peace, global security and sustainable development, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov announced the decision to award the UN Secretary-General the first commemorative medal of Turkmenistan "Magtymguly Pyragynyň 300 ýyllygyna" in honor of the great master of words.

During the visit, the head of the largest international organization visited the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia and highly praised its work. He also noted the importance of constructive initiatives and proposals put forward by neutral Turkmenistan, aimed at ensuring peace and security on regional and global scales, and resolving any conflict situations exclusively through political and diplomatic means.

As part of the visit, the distinguished guest visited the United Nations Office in Turkmenistan, where he met with staff of UN missions accredited in our country and participated in the opening ceremony of the new UN Office building in Ashgabat.

Expressing sincere gratitude to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the Government of our country for the comprehensive assistance and support provided in their work, the head of the authoritative international organization expressed confidence that the Turkmenistan-UN partnership will continue to develop successfully in all priority areas.

In the afternoon, a meeting was held in narrow and expanded formats between the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Noting the high appreciation of UN activities, the Hero-Arkadag emphasized that partnership with the Organization's specialized structures and institutions working in our country is successfully advancing, participating in implementing important projects and programs in various fields. The fruitfulness and effectiveness of cooperation are largely due to mutual understanding and alignment of strategic goals between Turkmenistan and the UN, shared interests in striving for peace, justice, development, and respect for the rights of states and peoples as the basis of international relations.

For our country, the UN is the only universal and legitimate organization that Turkmenistan considers as the supporting pillar of the modern system of global interaction, a guarantor of preserving and maintaining peace and balance of interests in the international arena, and the sustainability of the security architecture.

It was emphasized that Turkmenistan supports further strengthening the coordinating role of the UN General Assembly and Economic and Social Council, as well as holding regular High-Level Political Forums on Sustainable Development to review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The Hero-Arkadag highly valued the current visit of the UN Secretary-General as the beginning of the forthcoming joint activities within the framework of the International Year of Peace and Trust. Confidence was expressed in the fruitfulness of the work, which will provide tangible results for the benefit of peoples worldwide, progress and development.

The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov also met with the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, North and South America, Miroslav Jenča, who arrived in our country as part of the delegation led by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The guest noted the effectiveness of our country's cooperation with the Community of Nations in implementing important regional and global initiatives, joint large-scale projects and programs in various fields, emphasizing that he expects new important initiatives from Turkmenistan at the "Summit of the Future" to be held in September this year.

Moving to the chronology of last week's events, on July 1, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov held a working meeting on the digital system, discussing the progress of seasonal field work in the country's regions, as well as the pace of construction of social, cultural and industrial facilities.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov identified completing the harvest in the shortest possible time without losses, ensuring uninterrupted transportation of harvested wheat to reception points and its proper storage, and timely payments to farmers for the delivered crop as the most important requirements of the day.

The head of state emphasized the need to accelerate the construction of various facilities within the framework of state programs scheduled for commissioning this year, ensuring high quality of work and completing them on time.

On July 5, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov held a regular meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers via digital system, addressing current issues of the country's life.

Information was provided on further improving the national legal framework, particularly on preparing draft laws aimed at enhancing civil-legal relations and aligning the budget system with current realities.

The government meeting agenda included issues of widespread implementation of digital systems in economic sectors, specifically in gas supply infrastructure, and improving banking services quality through innovative technologies.

Additionally, steps to strengthen the material and technical base and infrastructure of the domestic chemical industry and expand mutually beneficial trade and economic relations with neighboring states were reported.

A draft Resolution on holding a Culture Week in Akhal velayat next year was presented to the head of state.

In the era of Revival of the new epoch of the powerful state, the science sphere is systematically improved, with special importance given to creating a solid foundation for the current and future development of the national economy. President Berdimuhamedov emphasized the importance of financing and monitoring the implementation of scientific and technical programs in the country. A draft Resolution "On Approval of the Procedure for Development, Implementation and Financing State Scientific and Technical Programs" was presented for the President's consideration.

Proposals were also voiced to increase mutually beneficial partnerships with European region states, particularly with Eastern European countries that are members of the European Union, including the Republic of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and the Slovak Republic.

The meeting considered several other issues of state life, on which appropriate decisions were made.

On July 1, the Mejlis held the presentation of credentials from the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Nicaragua to our country, Ms. Tatiana Daniela Garcia Silva.

One of the priority directions of Turkmenistan's foreign policy is the comprehensive development of relations with world states, primarily with close neighbors, based on friendship and trust. Special importance is given to multifaceted cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

From July 1-3, meetings were held in the capital between the leaders of the State Concern "Türkmengaz" and a delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran. A wide range of issues related to further development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Iran in the gas industry was discussed, particularly the supply of Turkmen natural gas to the Republic of Iraq through Iranian territory under the SWAP scheme.

To further strengthen partnership in this area and export additional volumes of natural gas to the Islamic Republic of Iran, work will be carried out in Turkmenistan to lay a new 125-kilometer gas pipeline and construct three gas compressor stations. This will allow increasing the current supply volumes of "blue fuel" to Iran in the Dovletabat-Serakhs-Hangeran directions and through the "Chaloyuk" gas measuring station to 40 billion cubic meters per year.

An important agreement was reached as a result of the meetings. Specifically, the Turkmen and Iranian sides signed a contract for the purchase and sale of natural gas in the volume of up to 10 billion cubic meters per year.

Also, a Press Release was signed between the State Concern "Türkmengaz" and the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Turkmenistan on the results of bilateral negotiations on cooperation in the gas industry.

In the new historical era under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Turkmenistan consistently implements a foreign policy strategy based on the principles of positive neutrality, peacefulness and broad constructive partnership. One of the priority vectors here is strengthening fruitful dialogue with authoritative regional and international organizations and structures. A clear confirmation of this is the participation of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as an honorary guest at the SCO Summit, which was held in Astana, the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

On July 4, the Hero-Arkadag took part in the opening ceremony of the monument to the great poet and thinker of the East, Magtymguly Fragi, erected in Astana. The Turkmen and Kazakh peoples are connected by centuries-old historical closeness, noted the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at the monument opening ceremony.

In the afternoon, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit was held in the "SCO +" format. Leaders and high-ranking representatives of SCO member states and countries with observer and dialogue partner status in the Organization arrived in Astana to participate in the Summit. Heads of international and regional organizations, as well as the UN Secretary-General, were invited to the forum.

Speaking at the Summit, the Hero-Arkadag noted that Turkmenistan considers the SCO as a significant and promising partner, cooperation with which meets national interests, can significantly and positively influence the course and direction of regional processes, and contribute to the stabilization of the international situation.

Turkmenistan is united with the peoples and states that are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and work with it through deep historical ties, geographical proximity, common values and worldview. Today, this is complemented by mutual interest in economics, trade, investments and technologies, emphasized the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. And of course, Turkmenistan fully shares the fundamental principles underlying the SCO's activities - peace, mutual respect, equality, cooperation - and is ready to work together on their practical implementation.

The Hero-Arkadag proposed to discuss with the SCO the possibilities of supporting the initiative to form a Global Security Strategy, put forward by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in September last year at the plenary session of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

The National Leader of the Turkmen people also noted that in its assessments of cooperation with the SCO, Turkmenistan proceeds from the alignment of mutual economic interests. The prospects for partnership and its long-term nature are already evident today. The Eurasian space has inexhaustible resource and demographic potential, demonstrating rapid economic growth, outstanding scientific and technological achievements.

Collectively, these factors open unique opportunities for constructive interaction between Turkmenistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in strategic areas - transport, communications, energy, and a number of other directions.

Trade, industrial cooperation, agriculture, the "green" agenda, and information technology were highlighted among important vectors of cooperation with the SCO. Models of cross-border and regional business partnerships involving small and medium-sized businesses look promising.

As the Hero-Arkadag noted, Turkmenistan also expresses its desire to expand and intensify humanitarian, scientific and educational ties.

As part of the working visit of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, a meeting was held between the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which took place with the participation of delegations from both countries. Emphasizing that cooperation is based on centuries-old traditions of good neighborliness and brotherhood, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev confirmed the Republic of Kazakhstan's readiness to increase multifaceted interaction with Turkmenistan. The meeting continued with an interested discussion of a wide range of partnership issues, during which its key directions were specified, taking into account modern realities, existing potential and plans for the future.

Additionally, members of the Turkmenistan delegation held several meetings in Astana with their Kazakh colleagues. The discussions focused on further development of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in various sectors. In this context, the prospects of expanding effective ties in the fuel and energy sector, transport and communications, and other areas were considered.

Sports interaction also holds an important place. Recently, Ashgabat received the status of a City of New Sports Opportunities of the Commonwealth of Independent States. This status implies openness to the broadest international cooperation in this field, including the participation of athletes from SCO countries.

On Sunday, July 7, an important socio-political event took place in the capital – elections of deputies of the Mejlis to replace those who had left in certain constituencies.

The elections were held at a high organizational level, in accordance with the country's current legislation and generally accepted norms of international law.

Overall, last week's events once again clearly demonstrated the success of the state policy of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who firmly and consistently puts the country's colossal peacemaking, economic and humanitarian potential at the service of his people and all humanity.